Questions & Answers about Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.
What is the difference between snakker and snakke?
Snakke is the infinitive form, like to speak / to talk in English.
Snakker is the present tense form, like speak / talk or am speaking / are talking.
So:
- Vi vil snakke. = We want to talk. (infinitive)
- Vi snakker. = We talk / are talking. (present tense)
Why is it ærlig and not ærlige or ærligt here?
In this sentence, ærlig functions as an adverb (honestly), describing how we talk.
In Norwegian, many adjectives form adverbs by adding -t (for example: god → godt).
But adjectives ending in -lig / -ig / -sk usually keep the same form as adverbs:
- vanlig → vanlig (ordinary → ordinarily / usually)
- ærlige is the plural/adjective form (e.g., ærlige mennesker = honest people), not used as an adverb.
- ærligt is Danish spelling, not Norwegian.
So ærlig is correct as an adverb here: snakker ærlig = speak honestly.
Could I say Vi ærlig snakker med hverandre instead?