Vi ser en annen film i kveld.

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Questions & Answers about Vi ser en annen film i kveld.

What does each word in Vi ser en annen film i kveld mean literally?
  • Vi = we
  • ser = see / are seeing / watch / are watching (present tense of å se)
  • en = a / one (indefinite article, masculine)
  • annen = another / a different
  • film = film / movie (a masculine noun)
  • i = in
  • kveld = evening

So literally: We see another film in evening, which in natural English is We’re watching another movie tonight.

Why is ser in the present tense if the movie is tonight (in the future)?

Norwegian often uses the simple present for planned or scheduled future events, especially with a time expression:

  • Vi ser en annen film i kveld.
    = We’re watching another movie tonight. (plan)

This works like English We’re watching… tonight or We play tomorrow.
You can also say:

  • Vi skal se en annen film i kveld. (We are going to watch…)
  • Vi kommer til å se en annen film i kveld. (We will / are going to watch…)

All are correct; the original sentence is simply a natural, colloquial way to talk about a plan.

Why is it ser en film and not ser på en film?

With film, Norwegians normally say å se en film (to watch a movie) without .

You use se på with things like:

  • se på TV = watch TV
  • se på fuglene = look at the birds

Rough rule:

  • se en film / en serie / en video
  • se på TV / se på noe = look at something (more general)

So Vi ser en film is the natural way to say We’re watching a movie.

Why is the article en used before film? Could it be something else?

Film is a masculine noun in Norwegian. The indefinite article for masculine nouns is en:

  • en film (a movie)
  • filmen (the movie)

Feminine: en bok / boka or boken (a / the book)
Neuter: et hus / huset (a / the house)

You cannot say et film here; en film is the correct form.

Can you say Vi ser annen film i kveld without en?

No, not in normal Norwegian. Singular count nouns in an indefinite sense normally need an article:

  • Vi ser en annen film i kveld.
  • Vi ser annen film i kveld. ❌ (sounds wrong)

So you need en in en annen film.

What exactly does en annen film mean? Is it “another” or “one more”?

En annen film means a different film / another film (not the same one as before).

Two common contrasts:

  • en annen film = a different movie
  • en film til = one more movie (an additional one)

Example:

  • La oss se en annen film.
    = Let’s watch a different movie (change the choice).

  • La oss se en film til.
    = Let’s watch one more movie (in addition to what we already saw).

What’s the difference between annen and andre?

They’re different forms of the same word annen (other / another / different):

  • annen: singular, indefinite
    • en annen film (another film)
  • andre: plural, or after a definite form
    • andre filmer (other films)
    • de andre filmene (the other films)

So in this sentence, because film is singular and indefinite, you must use annen.

What does i kveld literally mean, and why does it mean “tonight”?

Literally, i kveld is in the evening.

Norwegian uses i + part of the day for “this [part of the day]”:

  • i dag = today (this day)
  • i kveld = tonight / this evening
  • i morgen = tomorrow (this coming morning/day)
  • i natt = tonight / tonight during the night

So in natural English, i kveld is usually translated as tonight.

Why is the preposition i used in i kveld, not something like ?

For time expressions with days and parts of the day, Norwegian typically uses i:

  • i dag (today)
  • i går (yesterday)
  • i morgen (tomorrow)
  • i kveld (tonight / this evening)
  • i helga / i helgen (this weekend)

is used with other time expressions, like:

  • på mandag (on Monday)
  • på kvelden (in the evenings / at night, generally)

So i kveld is the set, idiomatic expression.

Can I change the word order to start with i kveld?

Yes. Both are correct but have slightly different emphasis:

  • Vi ser en annen film i kveld.
    (Neutral: statement about what we’re doing tonight.)

  • I kveld ser vi en annen film.
    (Emphasis on tonight – as for tonight, we’re watching another film.)

In Norwegian main clauses, the finite verb (ser) must be in second position, so when you move i kveld to the front, ser still comes second:
I kveld ser vi …, not I kveld vi ser ….

How would you make this sentence negative?

You add ikke (not) after the verb ser:

  • Vi ser ikke en annen film i kveld.
    = We’re not watching another movie tonight.

Depending on context, you might also move the focus:

  • Vi ser ikke en annen film i kveld, vi ser den samme.
    = We’re not watching a different movie tonight, we’re watching the same one.