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Questions & Answers about Vi må respektere naboene.
What does må express here, and how strong is it compared to bør or skal?
- må = must/have to (necessity/obligation). Strong.
- bør = should/ought to (advice/recommendation). Weaker.
- skal = is supposed to/shall (plan, arrangement, rule, or promise), not pure necessity.
- You’ll also see trenger å/behøver å = need to (practical need, often weaker than må).
So in this sentence, må conveys a clear obligation: “We must …”.
Why is there no å before respektere?
After modal verbs in Norwegian—kan, vil, må, skal, bør—the next verb is in the bare infinitive without å:
- Vi må respektere …
- Compare: Vi prøver å respektere … (no modal, so you use å).
Why is it respektere and not respekterer?
Because a modal verb (må) is followed by the infinitive (respektere). If you simply state a fact in the present without a modal, you use the present tense:
- With modal (obligation): Vi må respektere naboene.
- Simple present (habit): Vi respekterer naboene.
What does the ending -ene in naboene indicate?
It’s the definite plural suffix: “the neighbors.” Paradigm:
- Singular: en nabo (a neighbor) → naboen (the neighbor)
- Plural: naboer (neighbors) → naboene (the neighbors)
How do I say “our neighbors” or make it singular?
- “Our neighbors” (Bokmål): naboene våre. You can also say våre naboer (both are correct; the first is more common).
- Singular “the neighbor”: naboen. Examples:
- Vi må respektere naboene våre. (We must respect our neighbors.)
- Vi må respektere naboen. (We must respect the neighbor.)
How do I negate this, and what’s the difference between “mustn’t” and “don’t have to”?
- Prohibition (mustn’t): Vi må ikke respektere naboene. This literally means “We must not respect the neighbors” (a strong prohibition). It’s grammatically correct but odd in meaning here—use it only when you really mean “mustn’t.”
- Lack of necessity (don’t have to): Vi trenger ikke å respektere naboene. or Vi behøver ikke å respektere naboene. Placement: ikke goes after the modal in main clauses: Vi må ikke …
How do I ask “Do we have to respect the neighbors?” and answer it?
- Question (inversion): Må vi respektere naboene?
- Short answers:
- Yes: Ja, det må vi.
- No: Nei, det må vi ikke. Norwegian main clauses use V2 word order: the finite verb (må) comes in second position in statements, and first in yes/no questions.
How do I talk about the past or other tenses with må?
- Past (had to): Vi måtte respektere naboene.
- Present perfect (have had to): Vi har måttet respektere naboene.
- Future-like necessity: Norwegian often still uses present må with a future time reference, or uses a periphrastic form:
- I morgen må vi respektere naboene.
- Vi kommer til å måtte respektere naboene.
Does respektere need a preposition, or can it take a direct object?
Respektere is transitive and takes a direct object—no preposition:
- respektere naboene If you use the noun respekt, you add for:
- vise respekt for naboene (show respect for the neighbors)
How should I pronounce the sentence?
Approximate guide (varies by dialect):
- Vi: “vee”
- må: long “mo” (like British “more” without the r)
- respektere: “reh-spehk-TEH-reh” (stress on -te-)
- naboene: “NAH-bo-eh-neh” (often simplified to “NAH-bo-neh”) Tip: Norwegian r is often a tap or trilled; all vowels are pronounced (final -e is a light schwa in many dialects).
Are there other natural ways to express the same idea?
Yes, very common and idiomatic alternatives:
- Vi må vise respekt for naboene.
- Vi må ta/vis hensyn til naboene. (take/show consideration for the neighbors)
- Command style (signs/notices): Respekter naboene. / Vis hensyn til naboene.
How would this look in Nynorsk?
- Vi/Me må respektere (respektera) naboane. Key changes: naboane (definite plural), and many Nynorsk speakers use me for “we.” The verb can appear as respektere or the Nynorsk form respektera.