Vi må feie opp støvet i stuen.

We must sweep up the dust in the living room.

Breakdown of Vi må feie opp støvet i stuen.

• vi: we
• i: in
• måtte: must
• stuen: the living room
• støvet: the dust
• feie opp: to sweep up

Questions & Answers about Vi må feie opp støvet i stuen.

What does må mean here, and is it closer to must or have to?

Må is a modal verb meaning must / have to.
In everyday Norwegian, må usually feels more like English have to (an obligation or necessity), but in some contexts it can be as strong as must.
Examples:

• Vi må gå nå. – We have to/must go now.
• Du må gjøre leksene dine. – You have to/must do your homework.

Why is it feie opp and not just feie?

Feie means to sweep, and opp is a little particle that adds the idea of up / away / completely.
Feie opp is like English sweep up, focusing on collecting and removing the dust, not just the motion of sweeping.
You could say feie gulvet (sweep the floor) without opp, but feie opp støvet emphasises gathering the dust so it’s gone.

Is feie opp a fixed expression? Are there other verbs like this?

Yes, feie opp is a common verb–particle combination, similar to English phrasal verbs like pick up or clean up.
Norwegian uses opp the same way in many verbs to mean up / finished / away:

• rydde opp – clean up / tidy up
• vaske opp – do the dishes / wash up
• spise opp – eat up (finish the food)
  The pattern is very productive and you’ll see it often.

Why is it støvet and not just støv?

Støv means dust as a mass noun. Adding -et makes it definite: støvet = the dust.
Norwegian usually attaches the definite article as an ending:

• støv – dust
• støvet – the dust
  So feie opp støvet is literally sweep up the dust, referring to specific dust (for example, the dust that’s already there in the living room).

When would I say støv without -et?

Use bare støv when you mean dust in general or in a non-specific way:

• Det er mye støv i dette rommet. – There is a lot of dust in this room.
  Use støvet when you mean particular dust that speaker and listener can identify:
• Vi må feie opp støvet i stuen. – We must sweep up the (existing) dust in the living room.

What is the form stuen? How does it relate to stue and stua?

The basic noun is (en) stue – a living room.
Its definite forms in Bokmål are:

• stuen – the living room (more formal/standard)
• stua – the living room (more colloquial, very common in speech)
  So you can say:
• Vi må feie opp støvet i stuen. (standard)
• Vi må feie opp støvet i stua. (everyday spoken style)

Why is the preposition i used in i stuen and not på?

For rooms inside a house, Norwegian normally uses i (in):

• i stuen – in the living room
• i kjøkkenet is less common; more natural is på kjøkkenet (on/at the kitchen), but i stuen is the usual one for the living room.
  You will sometimes hear regional or informal på stua, but i stuen / i stua is the standard and safest choice.

Why is the verb må in second position after Vi?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here må) must come in second position in the sentence.
So the basic order is:
Subject – finite verb – (other elements)
→ Vi må feie opp støvet i stuen.
If you move something else to the front, the verb still stays second:

• I stuen må vi feie opp støvet. – In the living room, we must sweep up the dust.

Where would ikke go if I want to say We must not sweep up the dust in the living room?

The normal pattern is: subject – modal verb – ikke – main verb.
So you say:

• Vi må ikke feie opp støvet i stuen. – We must not / are not allowed to sweep up the dust in the living room.
  Vi må feie ikke … is ungrammatical.
  If you front something, ikke still comes right after the modal:
• I stuen må vi ikke feie opp støvet.

How do I say We had to sweep up the dust in the living room?

Use the past tense of må, which is måtte.
The rest of the structure stays the same:

• Vi måtte feie opp støvet i stuen. – We had to sweep up the dust in the living room.

Is feie only used for sweeping with a broom, or can it mean vacuuming too?

Feie is specifically to sweep (with a broom).
For vacuuming, Norwegians normally use støvsuge:

• Vi må støvsuge i stuen. – We have to vacuum in the living room.
  For a more general expression like clean up the living room, you might say rydde i stuen or rydde opp i stuen.

If I want to say We must sweep the living room, not just the dust in the living room, how would I say that?

The most natural ways would be:

• Vi må feie i stuen. – We have to sweep in the living room. (focus on the action in that room)
• Vi må feie stuen. – We have to sweep the living room. (treating the room itself as the object; less common but understandable, often implying sweeping the floor there).
  If you mean a more general cleaning, you’d likely say Vi må rydde i stuen or Vi må rydde opp i stuen.