Questions & Answers about Jeg beundrer motet hans.
Word-by-word:
- jeg = I
- beundrer = admire (present tense of å beundre = to admire)
- motet = the courage (from mot = courage, neuter noun, definite form)
- hans = his
So the structure is literally I admire the courage his, which is how Norwegian usually expresses I admire his courage.
Motet is the definite form of the noun mot (courage).
- mot = courage (indefinite)
- motet = the courage (definite, neuter singular: stem + -et)
Norwegian often uses a definite noun + possessive to express English his/her X:
- motet hans = literally the courage his = his courage
- boka hennes = the book her = her book
So Jeg beundrer motet hans follows the normal pattern [the noun] + [possessive].
No; the -r is just present tense, not agreement with jeg.
In Norwegian:
- Verbs do not change with the subject (no I admire / he admires difference).
- Present tense is usually formed by adding -r to the infinitive (for regular verbs).
Here:
- infinitive: å beundre = to admire
- present: beundrer = admire / admires
So:
- jeg beundrer = I admire
- han beundrer = he admires
- de beundrer = they admire
Same form for all subjects.
Both orders exist, but the most normal, neutral way in modern Norwegian (especially in Bokmål) is:
[noun in definite form] + [hans/hennes/deres]
motet hans = his courage
stemmen hennes = her voice
So:
- motet hans is everyday, neutral.
- hans mot is possible, but:
- sounds more formal, written, or stylistic;
- can give a slightly stronger focus on “his” (often in contrast to someone else’s):
- Jeg beundrer hans mot, men ikke hennes. = I admire his courage, but not hers.
For a single, neutral statement, motet hans is the default choice.
You cannot say Jeg beundrer motet sitt here; it is ungrammatical.
Key rule:
- sin / si / sitt / sine refer back to the subject of the clause.
- hans / hennes / deres refer to someone else, or are used when the subject is not the possessor.
In Jeg beundrer motet hans:
- subject = jeg (I)
- possessor = han (he / him)
The courage belongs to another person, not to jeg, so we must use hans, not sin.
If it were my courage, you would say:
- Jeg beundrer motet mitt. = I admire my (own) courage.
It is not wrong; it is grammatical, but the style is different.
- Jeg beundrer motet hans.
- most common, neutral, everyday Bokmål.
- Jeg beundrer hans mot.
- more formal, literary, or rhetorical;
- can emphasize hans a bit more, sometimes with contrast.
In spoken language, learners are safest using motet hans.
Mot (courage) is a neuter noun in Norwegian.
This matters for:
Definite ending
- neuter singular definite: -et
- mot → motet (the courage)
Possessives with neuter nouns
- mitt mot = my courage (indefinite, possessive in front)
- motet mitt = my courage (definite, possessive after)
So you know to use -et (not -en) for the definite form.
Yes, you can say Jeg beundrer ham (I admire him), but it means something different.
- Jeg beundrer ham.
- Focus: the person as a whole.
- Jeg beundrer motet hans.
- Focus: a specific quality of his, namely his courage.
So:
- If you admire him generally, use Jeg beundrer ham.
- If you want to highlight his courage in particular, use Jeg beundrer motet hans.
Use the same structure motet + possessive:
- I admire her courage.
- Jeg beundrer motet hennes.
- I admire my courage.
- Jeg beundrer motet mitt.
- I admire our courage.
- Jeg beundrer motet vårt.
- I admire their courage.
- Jeg beundrer motet deres.
All follow the pattern: [motet] + [possessive pronoun].
No, mot has two common, unrelated uses:
Noun: mot (neuter) = courage, bravery
- motet hans = his courage
Preposition: mot = against / towards
- Hun løp mot huset. = She ran towards the house.
- Kampen mot sykdommen. = The fight against the illness.
In Jeg beundrer motet hans, motet is clearly a noun (with the definite ending -et), so it must mean courage, not against/towards.
Approximate standard pronunciation (Bokmål, Central/Eastern accent):
- Jeg ≈ jæi or jæ
- beundrer ≈ beh-UNN-drer, often reduced so the middle -e- is weak: b’undrer
- motet ≈ MOH-te (long o, final -t is usually not strongly released)
- hans ≈ hans (short a, final s clearly pronounced)
Spoken fast, it might sound roughly like: jæ b’undrer moh-te hans.
Yes:
- jeg is not capitalised in the middle of a sentence in Norwegian.
- Jeg beundrer motet hans. (capital J only because it’s the first word)
- … og jeg beundrer motet hans. (lowercase jeg in the middle)
- It does not change form (I / me); jeg is used as subject, but as object you normally use meg:
- Jeg ser ham. = I see him.
- Han ser meg. = He sees me.
In this sentence, jeg is the subject, so jeg (not meg) is correct.