Møtet starter presis klokken ti.

The meeting starts exactly at ten o'clock.

Breakdown of Møtet starter presis klokken ti.

• møtet: the meeting
• starte: to start
• klokken: the clock
• ti: ten
• presis: precise

Questions & Answers about Møtet starter presis klokken ti.

Why is it møtet and not møte?

Because møtet is the definite form: møte = a meeting, møtet = the meeting.

Norwegian usually uses the definite form when you talk about a specific, known event, like a scheduled meeting everyone already knows about.
So Møtet starter … means The meeting starts …, not A meeting starts ….

How is the word møte declined? (indefinite, definite, plural…)

Møte is a neuter noun. Its common forms in Bokmål are:

• et møte – a meeting (indefinite singular)
• møtet – the meeting (definite singular)
• møter – meetings (indefinite plural)
• møtene – the meetings (definite plural)

In your sentence we have møtet (definite singular).

Could I say Møtet begynner presis klokken ti instead of starter? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can. Both are correct:

• Møtet starter …
• Møtet begynner …

Starte and begynne often overlap and here they mean the same thing: to start / to begin.
In everyday speech begynne is very common; in schedules, programs, and written announcements you’ll see both.

What exactly does klokken mean here?

Literally, klokken is “the clock”, but in time expressions it corresponds to English “o’clock” or just “at”.

So klokken ti is like saying “ten o’clock” or simply “at ten”.
Grammar-wise: klokke (clock) → klokken = the clock (definite form), used idiomatically to tell the time.

Why is klokken in the definite form? Why not just klokke ti?

Norwegian time expressions normally use the definite form:

• klokken ti / klokka ti – ten o’clock
• klokken halv ti – half past nine
• klokken fem – five o’clock

Saying klokke ti would sound wrong; you almost always say klokken/klokka + time.

What’s the difference between klokken and klokka?

Both mean the same: “the clock / o’clock”.

• klokken – more standard/bookish Bokmål; common in writing.
• klokka – more informal / spoken; also a fully correct Bokmål form.

So you could also say:

• Møtet starter presis klokka ti.

Can I leave out klokken and say Møtet starter presis ti?

In standard Norwegian, you normally keep klokken/klokka in this kind of sentence.

You might hear presis ti in very casual speech, but Møtet starter presis klokka ti (or klokken ti) sounds much more natural and is what you should learn as the default.

Where can I put presis in the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, it’s quite flexible. All of these are possible:

• Møtet starter presis klokken ti.
• Møtet starter klokken ti presis.
• Presis klokken ti starter møtet.

They all mean essentially the same.
Putting presis first or right before the time (Presis klokken ti …) gives extra emphasis to exactly at ten.

Can I start the sentence with the time, like Klokken ti starter møtet?

Yes. This is very natural Norwegian, especially in schedules:

• Klokken ti starter møtet.

When you move the time to the front, Norwegian keeps the verb in second position (V2 rule), so you must say starter immediately after klokken ti, not Klokken ti møtet starter.

How do you generally say other times in Norwegian with klokken?

Some common patterns:

• klokken to – two o’clock
• klokken halv tre – half past two (literally “half three”)
• klokken kvart over fire – quarter past four
• klokken kvart på fem – quarter to five
• klokken fem over seks – five past six
• klokken ti på sju – ten to seven

The structure is the same as in your sentence: klokken/klokka + time expression.

How do you pronounce Møtet starter presis klokken ti?

Approximate pronunciation (Bokmål, fairly neutral accent):

• Møtet – [MØH-te]
  
  • ø like the vowel in French peu, German schön
  • stress on the first syllable: MØ-te
• starter – [STAR-ter]
  
  • r is tapped/flipped; rt often sounds a bit like a retroflex t
• presis – [pre-SEES]
  
  • stress on the second syllable: pre-SIS
• klokken – [KLOK-ken]
  
  • double kk is a short, strong k; stress on KLOK
• ti – [tee]

Said smoothly: something like “MØH-te STAR-ter pre-SEES KLOK-ken tee.”

Is presis an adjective or an adverb here? Does it change form?

Here presis functions as an adverb (it describes how/when the meeting starts).
As an adverb, it stays presis and does not change form.

As an adjective, it can change:

• en presis person – a punctual person
• et presist møte – a precise meeting (neuter)
• presise tider – precise times (plural)

But in Møtet starter presis klokken ti, you just use presis unchanged.

Is there a more informal or alternative way to say the whole sentence?

A very natural, slightly more informal version is:

• Møtet begynner klokka ti presis.

Changes:

• begynner instead of starter – very common in speech.
• klokka instead of klokken – more conversational.
• ti presis instead of presis klokka ti – same meaning, just a different emphasis/order.