Hun vil ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke.

She wants the main role in the next play.

Breakdown of Hun vil ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke.

• hun: she
• ha: to have
• i: in
• neste: next
• ville: want
• teaterstykket: the play
• hovedrollen: the main role

Questions & Answers about Hun vil ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke.

What does vil ha mean here? Is it “wants” or a future tense like “will have”?

In this sentence, vil ha means “wants (to have)”, not a neutral future tense.

• vil = want
• ha = have

So hun vil ha hovedrollen = she wants the main role.

Norwegian doesn’t use vil in the same way English uses “will” for a neutral future. For future meaning, Norwegian more often uses:

• skal for planned/arranged future:
  
  • Hun skal ha hovedrollen = She is going to have the main role (it’s decided/planned).
• Present tense + time expression:
  
  • Hun har hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke can also imply a future arrangement in context (she has the main role in the next play).

Why do we need ha after vil? Why not just Hun vil hovedrollen?

In Norwegian, vil normally needs a verb after it; it can’t just take a noun by itself in this meaning.

• vil ha = wants to have
• vil gjøre = wants to do
• vil spise = wants to eat

So you must say:

• Hun vil ha hovedrollen. ✅
  She wants the main role.

Hun vil hovedrollen ❌ is incorrect, because hovedrollen is a noun, and vil here needs a verb (ha) to complete the meaning.

Why is it hovedrollen and not en hovedrolle?

Hovedrollen is in the definite singular form: the main role.

• en hovedrolle = a main role (indefinite)
• hovedrollen = the main role (definite)

In this context there is usually only one main role in a play, and both English and Norwegian naturally use the definite form:

• English: the main role
• Norwegian: hovedrollen

Grammatically:

• hovedrolle = main role (base form)
• hovedrollen = the main role
  (-en is the attached definite article for a masculine/feminine noun)

What kind of word is hovedrollen, and how is it formed?

Hovedrollen is:

1. A compound noun:

   • hoved = main, chief
   • rolle = role
     → hovedrolle = main role, leading role

2. In the definite singular form:

   • Base: hovedrolle
   • Definite: hovedrollen (the main role)

So hun vil ha hovedrollen literally: she wants to have the-main-role.

Why is it i neste teaterstykke and not i det neste teaterstykket?

Both are possible, but they’re used slightly differently.

1. i neste teaterstykke

   • Very common, especially when you mean “the next one in the sequence.”
   • neste often doesn’t take an article when you mean “the next X” in a clear, ordered context:
     
     • Neste uke = next week
     • Neste gang = next time
     • Neste teaterstykke = the next play (upcoming one)

2. i det neste teaterstykket

   • More specific or contrastive: “in the next play (as opposed to some other one)”.
   • Sounds a bit more formal or emphasised; you’re pointing to a particular next item.

In everyday speech, i neste teaterstykke is perfectly natural and probably the default.

Why is teaterstykke one word and not two, like “teater stykke”?

Norwegian loves compound nouns, where two (or more) nouns are written together as one word.

• teater = theatre
• stykke = piece
  → teaterstykke = theatre piece, play

Writing it as teater stykke would look wrong in standard Norwegian. As a rule, when two nouns together form a new, specific concept, they are written as one word:

• barnebok (barn + bok) = children’s book
• fjellvann (fjell + vann) = mountain lake
• teaterstykke (teater + stykke) = (theatrical) play

Why is the preposition i used here? Could you use på instead?

In this sentence:

• i neste teaterstykke = in the next play

Here i is the normal preposition for being inside or part of something (a group, a team, a production):

• spille i en film = act in a movie
• synge i et kor = sing in a choir
• ha hovedrollen i et teaterstykke = have the main role in a play

Using på here (på neste teaterstykke) sounds wrong.

På is used with some fixed expressions (e.g. på teater = at the theatre; på scenen = on the stage), but in a play specifically uses i.

Could you say Hun skal ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke instead? What’s the difference from Hun vil ha …?

Yes, you can say both, but they mean different things:

1. Hun vil ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke.

   • She wants the main role.
   • Focus on her desire or wish. It’s not necessarily decided.

2. Hun skal ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke.

   • She is going to have the main role.
   • Suggests that it is decided/arranged. It’s on the schedule, or someone has chosen her.

So:

• vil ha = wants to have
• skal ha = is supposed to have / is going to have (plan/arrangement)

How would you pronounce teaterstykke and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (Bokmål, standard East Norwegian):

• teater ≈ teh-AH-ter

  • Stress on the second syllable: -A-
  • The r is weakly pronounced or almost silent after -te for many speakers.

• stykke ≈ STY-kke

  • sty like “stü” in German “Stück” (front rounded vowel /y/)
  • Double kk indicates a short preceding vowel and a longer consonant.

As a compound, teaterstykke has primary stress on teater and a secondary stress on stykke, roughly:

• teAterSTYkke

You don’t pause between the parts; it’s one flowing word.

What gender is hovedrolle, and does that affect hovedrollen?

Rolle is usually feminine (ei rolle), but in Bokmål many feminine nouns can also be treated as masculine (en rolle). So you might see:

• ei hovedrolle / en hovedrolle = a main role
• hovedrollen = the main role

The definite ending -en works for both masculine and feminine in Bokmål:

• Masculine: en stol → stolen (chair → the chair)
• Feminine: ei rolle → rollen (role → the role)

So hovedrollen is the definite form, regardless of whether you think of hovedrolle as grammatically feminine or masculine in your dialect/usage.

Are there other ways to say “she wants the main role” in Norwegian, and how do they differ from hun vil ha hovedrollen?

Yes, a few common alternatives:

1. Hun vil ha hovedrollen.

   • Neutral, straightforward: she wants the main role.

2. Hun ønsker (å få) hovedrollen.

   • ønsker = wishes
   • Slightly more formal or polite: “She wishes to get the main role.”

3. Hun har lyst på hovedrollen.

   • Literally: “She has desire for the main role.”
   • More colloquial, emphasizes desire: “She really wants the main role.”

4. Hun drømmer om å få hovedrollen.

   • “She dreams of getting the main role.”
   • Stronger emotional coloring; more than just a simple wish.

The original hun vil ha hovedrollen i neste teaterstykke is a clear, neutral way to say she wants that role in that specific upcoming play.