Jeg prøver å ikke være misunnelig; hun er sjalu nok for oss begge.

I try not to be envious; she is jealous enough for both of us.

Breakdown of Jeg prøver å ikke være misunnelig; hun er sjalu nok for oss begge.

• jeg: I
• være: to be
• hun: she
• å: to

Questions & Answers about Jeg prøver å ikke være misunnelig; hun er sjalu nok for oss begge.

Why is it å ikke være and not ikke å være or å være ikke?

In Norwegian, the normal place for ikke (not) in an infinitive construction like this is directly in front of the infinitive verb:

• å ikke være misunnelig = to not be jealous

Å være ikke misunnelig is ungrammatical.

Ikke å være misunnelig is possible, but it usually occurs in different constructions, for example after a preposition or as a kind of noun phrase:

• Målet er ikke å være misunnelig.
  The goal is not to be jealous.

Compare:

• Jeg prøver å ikke være misunnelig.
  I’m trying not to be jealous. (This is what the sentence uses.)

• Jeg prøver ikke å være misunnelig.
  This usually means I’m not trying to be jealous (I’m not making an effort to be jealous), which is a different meaning.

So in this sentence, å ikke være is the natural and correct choice to express to not be.

What is the difference between misunnelig and sjalu?