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Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vi snakker om fortiden i dag. - We are talking about the past today.

Hardcore Norwegian
/Lesson 40
/Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Word

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Meaning

We are talking about the past today.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Norwegian

Lesson

Breakdown of Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Questions & Answers about Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Why is the verb “snakker” the same for “we talk” and “I talk”?

In Norwegian, verbs do not change with the subject.

Jeg snakker = I talk / I am talking
Du snakker = You talk / you are talking
Vi snakker = We talk / we are talking

The present tense has one form for all persons, so you never add endings like -s, -ing, or -er to match the subject.

How can “Vi snakker om fortiden i dag” mean both “We talk about the past today” and “We are talking about the past today”?

Norwegian has only one present tense for both:

English present simple: We talk about the past today.
English present continuous: We are talking about the past today.

Both are expressed with the same form:

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Context decides whether it is understood as something happening right now or as a habit/plan for today. If you need to stress that it’s happening right now, you can add something like nå (now):

Vi snakker om fortiden nå. = We are talking about the past now.

What does the preposition “om” mean in “snakker om fortiden”?

fortiden

the past

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In this context, om means “about”:

å snakke om noe = to talk about something

Examples:

Vi snakker om filmen. = We are talking about the movie.
Hun tenker mye på framtiden og fortiden. = She thinks a lot about the future and the past.

Don’t confuse this om = about with other uses of om, like:

Om to dager = in two days
Jeg vet ikke om han kommer. = I don’t know if he is coming.

Why is it “fortiden” and not just “fortid”?

Fortid means “past” as a noun. Norwegian often uses the definite form when English uses just the bare noun:

fortid = a past / past (indefinite)
fortiden = the past (definite)

In this sentence, you’re talking about the past as a general concept, so Norwegian prefers the definite:

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.
= Literally: We talk about the past (the-past) today.

Saying om fortid without -en would sound incomplete or odd in this general sense, almost like “about a past”.

What gender is “fortid”, and how is it declined?

In Bokmål, fortid is usually treated as a feminine (or common gender) noun:

Indefinite singular: en/ei fortid
Definite singular: fortiden
Plural indefinite: fortider
Plural definite: fortidene

So in our sentence, fortiden is definite singular.

Can I say “Vi snakker om fortid i dag” instead?

It would sound unnatural in most contexts.

When you mean “the past” as a broad, abstract concept (history, what has already happened), Norwegian almost always uses the definite form:

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

Using the indefinite fortid would suggest “a past” or “some past time”, which is not how you usually refer to the general concept of “the past”.

Can I move “i dag” to the beginning: “I dag snakker vi om fortiden”? Is there a difference?

Yes, that word order is correct too:

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.
I dag snakker vi om fortiden.

Both mean basically the same thing: We (are) talk(ing) about the past today.

The difference is emphasis:

Vi snakker om fortiden i dag. → neutral; focus is more on what you’re talking about.
I dag snakker vi om fortiden. → emphasizes today (for example, compared to other days when you talk about something else).

Why is “i dag” written as two words and not “idag”?

The standard modern spelling in both Bokmål and Nynorsk is:

i dag (two words)

You may see idag in older texts, informal writing, or some dialect-influenced contexts, but “i dag” is the correct form you should learn and use.

Where can I place “i dag” in the sentence? Are there rules?

Common, natural positions include:

At the beginning (for emphasis on time):
- I dag snakker vi om fortiden.
After the verb (within the main clause field):
- Vi snakker i dag om fortiden. (formal / written style)
At the end (very natural in speech):
- Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

All are grammatically correct. The most everyday versions are:

I dag snakker vi om fortiden.
Vi snakker om fortiden i dag.

What’s the difference between “snakke” and “prate”? Could I say “Vi prater om fortiden i dag”?

Yes, you can:

Vi prater om fortiden i dag.

Snakke and prate are close in meaning, both often translated as “talk”:

snakke = to speak / talk (neutral, very common)
prate = to chat / talk (a bit more informal, like “chat” or “have a talk”)

In this sentence, both verbs sound natural. Snakke is slightly more neutral and broadly used.

How is “snakker” pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation (in a standard Eastern accent):

snakker ≈ SNAK-ker

Details:

s as in see
n as in no
a is short, like the a in British “cat” but a bit darker
kk is a short, doubled k sound
er is usually pronounced like a neutral vowel (schwa) + a tapped or rolled r

So you might hear something like “SNAK-ker” with the stress on the first syllable.

How is “fortiden” pronounced, and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation:

fortiden ≈ FOR-tee-den (with stress on FOR)

Details:

for like English “for” but shorter and more closed; often closer to for/fur
ti like “tee”
den like “den”, but the vowel can be reduced slightly

Stress is on the first syllable: FOR-tii-den.

Is the word order “Vi snakker om fortiden i dag” the normal Norwegian word order?

Yes, it follows the typical Subject–Verb–Object/Other pattern:

Vi (subject)
snakker (verb)
om fortiden (prepositional phrase: “about the past”)
i dag (time expression: “today”)

This is a very natural and standard structure for a simple main clause in Norwegian.

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