I det siste har jeg vært trøtt.

Lately I have been tired.

Breakdown of I det siste har jeg vært trøtt.

• jeg: I
• være: to be
• ha: to have
• i: in

Questions & Answers about I det siste har jeg vært trøtt.

What does i det siste literally mean, and how does it correspond to English?

Literally, i det siste is:

• i = in
• det = the (neuter singular)
• siste = last / latest

So it is literally “in the last (period)”, where the noun (time/period) is left out and just understood.

In normal English, we translate I det siste har jeg vært trøtt as “Lately I’ve been tired” or “Recently I’ve been tired.”

Why is it i det siste and not i den siste or i siste?

Norwegian normally uses a neuter article here: det, not den.

• The full phrase behind i det siste is something like i den siste tiden (“in the last time/period”).
• When you drop tiden, what stays in fixed expression form is i det siste.

You cannot say:

• ✗ i den siste (wrong in this meaning)
• ✗ i siste (ungrammatical)

So you just have to learn i det siste as a set expression meaning “lately / recently.”

What tense is har jeg vært, and how does it compare to English?