Psykologen lytter til oss i dag.

The psychologist listens to us today.

Breakdown of Psykologen lytter til oss i dag.

• i dag: today
• til: to
• oss: us
• lytte: to listen
• psykologen: the psychologist

Questions & Answers about Psykologen lytter til oss i dag.

Why is it psykologen and not something like den psykolog for the psychologist?

Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, as a suffix:

• en psykolog = a psychologist (indefinite, singular)
• psykologen = the psychologist (definite, singular)

So you normally say psykologen, not den psykolog, in simple sentences.

You can add den in front if there is an adjective:

• den nye psykologen = the new psychologist

But without an adjective, psykologen on its own is the normal way to say the psychologist.

Why is it lytter and not hører? Don’t both mean to listen / to hear?

Both verbs are about sound, but there’s a difference:

• høre = to hear (more passive, just perceiving sound)
• lytte (til) = to listen (active, paying attention)

So:

• Psykologen hører oss = The psychologist hears us (can hear our voices).
• Psykologen lytter til oss = The psychologist is listening to us (actively paying attention).

In a therapy context, lytter til oss is more natural, because a psychologist is actively listening, not just hearing.

Why do you say lytter til oss and not just lytter oss?

The verb lytte needs the preposition til when you say who or what you listen to:

• lytte til musikk = listen to music
• lytte til radioen = listen to the radio
• lytte til oss = listen to us

So til here is basically the to in listen to.
Without til, the sentence would be ungrammatical.

Why is it oss and not vi?

Vi and oss are different cases of we:

• vi = subject form (does the action)
• oss = object form (receives the action)

Examples:

• Vi snakker med psykologen. = We talk with the psychologist.
• Psykologen lytter til oss. = The psychologist listens to us.

In your sentence, psykologen is the subject (the one listening), and oss is the object (the ones being listened to), so oss is correct.

Why is i dag at the end? Can I say I dag lytter psykologen til oss instead?

Both are correct:

• Psykologen lytter til oss i dag.
• I dag lytter psykologen til oss.

Norwegian main clauses follow a verb-second rule: the finite verb (here lytter) must be in second position:

• If the sentence starts with the subject:
  
  • [Psykologen] [lytter] [til oss] [i dag].
• If the sentence starts with a time phrase (i dag):
  
  • [I dag] [lytter] [psykologen] [til oss].

So you can move i dag to the front, but then lytter must still come second.

Does lytter here mean is listening or listens? Why no special continuous form like English is listening?

Norwegian present tense covers both English simple and continuous present:

• Psykologen lytter til oss i dag.
  
  • can mean The psychologist is listening to us today (right now)
  • or The psychologist listens to us today (as part of today’s session / plan)

Context usually makes it clear.

There is a progressive-like form (holder på å lytte), but it’s not used the same way as English continuous in everyday speech. For this sentence, simple lytter is natural.

If the appointment is later today, shouldn’t it be skal lytte (will listen) instead of lytter?

You can use skal for a future plan:

• Psykologen skal lytte til oss i dag. = The psychologist will listen to us today.

However, Norwegian often uses the present tense with a time expression (like i dag) to talk about the near future:

• Vi drar til byen i morgen. = We’re going to the city tomorrow.
• Psykologen lytter til oss i dag. = The psychologist is seeing/listening to us today.

So lytter … i dag can describe something happening later today, if the context is about a schedule.

How would the sentence change if it were only me instead of us?

You only need to change the object pronoun:

• Psykologen lytter til meg i dag. = The psychologist listens to me today.

Pronoun patterns:

• jeg = I
• meg = me
• vi = we
• oss = us

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.

What gender is psykolog, and why is it psykologen and not psykologet?

Psykolog is a masculine noun (en-ord):

• en psykolog = a psychologist
• psykologen = the psychologist

Definite endings:

• Masculine: -en (en bil → bilen)
• Feminine: -a (ei bok → boka)
• Neuter: -et (et hus → huset)

Since psykolog is masculine, the definite form is psykologen, not psykologet.

Is the p in psykologen pronounced? How do you say the whole sentence?

The p in psykologen is silent. Rough pronunciation (in simple English-style approximation):

• Psykologen ≈ syk-o-LO-gen
• lytter ≈ LÜT-ter (ü like German / French u, lips rounded)
• til ≈ til (like till)
• oss ≈ oss (similar to oss in boss, but shorter)
• i dag ≈ ee DAHG (short i, and dag with a hard g in many accents)

So the whole sentence:

Psykologen lytter til oss i dag.
≈ syk-o-LO-gen LÜT-ter til oss ee DAHG.