Jeg må betale semesteravgift før jeg kan melde meg opp til eksamen.

I have to pay the semester fee before I can register for the exam.

Breakdown of Jeg må betale semesteravgift før jeg kan melde meg opp til eksamen.

• jeg: I
• måtte: must
• kunne: can
• før: before
• betale: to pay
• til: for
• eksamenen: the exam
• semesteravgiften: the semester fee
• melde seg opp: to register

Questions & Answers about Jeg må betale semesteravgift før jeg kan melde meg opp til eksamen.

Why is må used here? What’s the difference between må, skal, and bør?

Må expresses necessity / obligation, often like English “have to / must”.

• Jeg må betale semesteravgift
  = I have to pay the semester fee (it’s required).

Comparisons:

• skal – more about a planned future or a strong intention:
  
  • Jeg skal betale semesteravgiften i morgen.
    = I’m going to pay the semester fee tomorrow.
• bør – should, a recommendation or advice, not a strict requirement:
  
  • Jeg bør betale semesteravgiften snart.
    = I should pay the semester fee soon.

In the original sentence, paying is a requirement in order to sign up for the exam, so må is the natural choice.

Both actions are in the future. Why do we use the present tense (må, kan, melde, betale) and not a future tense?

Norwegian usually uses the present tense for future events when context makes the time clear.

Even though this is about something you’ll do later, you say:

• Jeg må betale semesteravgift
• før jeg kan melde meg opp til eksamen.

There is no separate future tense like will pay in Norwegian. Instead you mainly use:

• present tense: Jeg betaler i morgen = I’ll pay tomorrow
• or skal + infinitive when you want to emphasise intention/plan:
  Jeg skal betale semesteravgiften i morgen.

Here, må (must) and kan (can) are in the present, but the time reference is understood as “before the exam sign‑up deadline / before that future point.”

Why don’t we use “å” before betale or melde? In other sentences I see å before infinitives.

In Norwegian, modal verbs (like må, kan, skal, vil, bør) are followed by an infinitive without “å”.

So you say:

• Jeg må betale … (not må å betale)
• Jeg kan melde meg opp … (not kan å melde)

But with normal verbs you use å + infinitive:

• Jeg liker *å betale regningene i tide.*
• Jeg prøver *å melde meg opp i dag.*

So the pattern is:

• modal verb + bare infinitive: må betale, kan melde
• other verb + å + infinitive: liker å betale, prøver å melde

Why is it “semesteravgift” written as one long word instead of “semester avgift”?

Norwegian loves compound nouns: two (or more) nouns are often written as one word.

• semester (semester/term) + avgift (fee)
  → semesteravgift (semester fee)

Writing it as two words (semester avgift) would look wrong to native speakers and could be misunderstood grammatically.

You’ll see this pattern everywhere:

• buss
  • kort → busskort (bus pass)
• student
  • kort → studentkort (student ID)
• eksamen
  • dato → eksamensdato (exam date)

Compound nouns are always one word in standard spelling.

Why is there no article before semesteravgift? Shouldn’t it be like “the semester fee”?

After verbs like betale / betale for / betale avgift, Norwegian often uses a bare singular noun (no article) when you talk about the fee as a type of thing, not a specific, already-mentioned fee:

• Jeg må betale semesteravgift.
  = I have to pay a/this/the required semester fee (context makes it specific enough).

You can make it definite:

• Jeg må betale semesteravgiften.
  = I have to pay the semester fee (a bit more like you’re talking about a particular known fee).

But in typical student-university contexts, Norwegians very often say it without an article; the situation makes it clear which fee you mean.

What gender is semesteravgift, and how would I say “the semester fee” or “a semester fee”?

The base noun avgift (fee) is usually feminine, but in Bokmål you can also treat many feminine nouns as masculine. Both patterns are accepted:

As feminine:

• indefinite: en avgift / ei avgift
• definite: avgiften / avgifta

For the compound semesteravgift:

• en/ei semesteravgift – a semester fee
• semesteravgiften / semesteravgifta – the semester fee

In most written Bokmål, you’ll most often see the masculine-like forms:

• en semesteravgift, semesteravgiften

What exactly does “melde meg opp” mean, and why is meg there?

Melde seg opp (til noe) is a reflexive verb phrase meaning “to register / sign oneself up (for something)”.

• melde = to report / register
• seg = oneself (reflexive pronoun)
• opp = a particle that helps form the phrasal meaning “sign up”
• til eksamen = for the exam

Because the subject is jeg (I), the reflexive pronoun must match:

• jeg → meg → melde meg opp
• du → deg → melde deg opp
• han/hun → seg → melde seg opp
• vi → oss → melde oss opp

So melde meg opp literally is “register myself up” → “sign up”.

What’s the function of “opp” in “melde meg opp”? Can I just say “melde meg”?

In melde meg opp, opp is a particle that changes the meaning of melde.

• melde alone = “to report, announce, notify”
  
  • Meld meg hvis du blir forsinket. = Let me know if you’re delayed.
• melde seg opp (til noe) = “to sign up / enroll (for something)”

Without opp, melde meg would just be “report me / announce me”, which is not the intended meaning.

So:

• melde meg opp til eksamen = sign up for the exam
• You must keep the opp in this expression.

Why is it “til eksamen” and not something like “for eksamen”?

In Norwegian, certain verbs and verb phrases prefer specific prepositions. For melde seg opp, the usual preposition is til:

• melde seg opp til eksamen = sign up for the exam
• melde seg på et kurs = sign up for a course

English uses “for”, but Norwegian uses til with melde seg opp in this context.

Think of til here as indicating the goal or target:

• melde seg opp *til noe = to register *for something

Why is it just “eksamen” and not “eksamenen” (the exam)?

Indefinite eksamen can refer to “an exam / the exam (you have to take)” when it’s clear from context, especially with general actions like signing up, taking, or preparing:

• melde seg opp til eksamen
• ta eksamen
• lese til eksamen

These often sound more generic and idiomatic, meaning “(the) exam” for this subject, without stressing that it’s one specific, previously mentioned exam.

You can use the definite form:

• melde seg opp til eksamenen
  = sign up for the exam (a particular one that’s been specified)

But in standard phrases about exams in general, Norwegians often stick to indefinite eksamen.

Could I say “Jeg må betale semesteravgift før jeg kan ta eksamen” instead? What’s the difference from “melde meg opp til eksamen”?

Yes, that’s correct Norwegian, but the meaning is slightly different.

• melde meg opp til eksamen
  = sign myself up / register for the exam (administrative action)
• ta eksamen
  = sit / take the exam (actually doing the exam)

The original sentence is specifically about the registration step.
If you say:

• Jeg må betale semesteravgift før jeg kan ta eksamen,

it sounds more like “I have to pay the semester fee before I’m allowed to sit the exam,” which is also true in many systems, but it focuses on a different stage of the process.

How should I pronounce “jeg må betale semesteravgift før jeg kan melde meg opp til eksamen”? Anything tricky for English speakers?

A few points:

• jeg is usually /jæi/ or /jæ/ (like “yai” or “ya”) in many dialects.
• å in må is like the vowel in English “law” (but shorter).
• betale: stress on -TA- → be-TA-le.
• semesteravgift: main stress on -MES-: se-MES-ter-avgift.
  
  • g in avgift is like a hard g in “give”.
• før: like English “fur” but with rounded lips (similar to German ö).
• melde: ld is usually pronounced clearly, /meldə/.
• opp: short /op/, not like English “ope”.
• til: short /til/, clear l.
• eksamen: stress on -SA-: ek-SA-men.

Rhythm-wise, try to group it like:

• Jeg må betale semesteravgift
• før jeg kan melde meg opp til eksamen.