Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.

We will go to Oslo tomorrow.

Breakdown of Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.

• vi: we
• til: to
• Oslo: Oslo
• skulle: shall
• i morgen: tomorrow
• dra: to go

Questions & Answers about Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.

What exactly does skal mean in this sentence? Is it like English “will” or “shall”?

In Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen, skal is a present-tense modal verb used to talk about the future.

It most often corresponds to:

• “am/is/are going to”
  
  • Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.
    → We are going to go to Oslo tomorrow.

It can also feel a bit like “will” when there is a clear plan or intention.

So here, skal expresses a planned future action, not obligation. It does not mean must in this sentence (though skal can mean must in other contexts, especially in instructions or rules).

Why do we need both skal and dra? Could I just say Vi drar til Oslo i morgen?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.
  
  • Stronger feeling of plan/arrangement. Often used when talking about future plans.
• Vi drar til Oslo i morgen.
  
  • Grammatically present tense, but with i morgen it’s understood as future.
  • Feels a bit more like stating a scheduled / fixed event, similar to English “We’re going to Oslo tomorrow” or “We leave for Oslo tomorrow.”

In everyday speech, both are natural. Skal + infinitive is a very common, clear way to talk about the future, especially for learners.

What is the difference between dra, reise, and gå? Why is it dra here?

All three can involve movement, but they’re used differently:

• dra

  • General verb for going / travelling (usually with some kind of vehicle or covering some distance).
  • Often used for trips:
    
    • Vi skal dra til Oslo. – We’re going (travelling) to Oslo.
    • Jeg drar hjem. – I’m going home.

• reise

  • More explicitly means to travel. Slightly more formal or focused on the journey itself.
  • Vi skal reise til Oslo i morgen. – We’re going to travel to Oslo tomorrow.

• gå

  • Primarily to walk or to go on foot.
  • Jeg går til skolen. – I walk to school / I’m going to school (on foot).

In Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen, dra is natural because you’re going some distance, likely by car, train, plane, etc., and the focus is just that you are going, not on the mode or the idea of “travelling” as such.

Could I say Vi skal til Oslo i morgen without dra? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, Vi skal til Oslo i morgen is correct and very common.

• Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.
  
  • Literally: We shall go/travel to Oslo tomorrow.
• Vi skal til Oslo i morgen.
  
  • Literally: We shall (are supposed/going) to Oslo tomorrow.

In practice they mean almost the same here. Native speakers often omit the extra verb (dra/reise) when the destination is clear:

• Vi skal til Oslo i morgen.
• Vi skal på jobb i morgen. – We’re going to work tomorrow.
• Vi skal til Sverige i sommer. – We’re going to Sweden this summer.

So the shorter version without dra is actually more typical in casual speech.

Why is it til Oslo and not i Oslo or på Oslo?

In Norwegian:

• til is used for movement toward a place (to):

  • Vi skal dra til Oslo. – We are going to Oslo.
  • Jeg går til skolen. – I walk to school.

• i is used for being inside / in a place:

  • Vi er i Oslo. – We are in Oslo.
  • Han bor i Oslo. – He lives in Oslo.

• på is used with many set expressions (på jobb, på skolen, på byen, på fjellet, etc.) but not with Oslo in this way.

So:

• til Oslo = to Oslo (movement)
• i Oslo = in Oslo (location)

You would say:

• Vi skal til Oslo i morgen. – We’re going to Oslo tomorrow.
• Vi skal være i Oslo i tre dager. – We will be in Oslo for three days.

Why is there no article with Oslo? Why don’t we say til Osloen?

City names in Norwegian normally do not take an article:

• Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, etc.
• til Oslo, i Bergen, fra Trondheim

So:

• til Oslo = to Oslo
• i Oslo = in Oslo

You would never say til Osloen or i Oslon in standard Norwegian.

How do Norwegians usually talk about the future? Is skal the standard future tense?

Norwegian doesn’t have a dedicated future tense like English “will”. It mainly uses:

1. Present tense + time expression

   • Vi drar til Oslo i morgen. – We’re going to Oslo tomorrow.
   • Jeg jobber i morgen. – I’m working tomorrow.

2. skal + infinitive (planned future/intention)

   • Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen. – We’re going to go to Oslo tomorrow.
   • Jeg skal møte henne senere. – I’m going to meet her later.

3. kommer til å + infinitive (often more like prediction)

   • Det kommer til å regne. – It’s going to rain.
   • Han kommer til å bli sint. – He’s going to get angry.

In your sentence, skal + dra is a very typical planned future.

Can you explain the word order? Where can i morgen go in the sentence?

Base sentence: Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.

In Norwegian, the verb should be in second position in main clauses (the V2 rule), but adverbs like i morgen can move around somewhat. Common options:

1. Subject first (very neutral):

   • Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.

2. Time first (very natural, often used):

   • I morgen skal vi dra til Oslo.

3. Less natural, but possible in some styles:

   • Vi skal i morgen dra til Oslo.
     (Sounds more formal / written and a bit stiff.)

The two most common everyday variants are:

• Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen.
• I morgen skal vi dra til Oslo.

Can you explain the pronunciation of Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen?

Approximate IPA (standard Eastern Norwegian):

• Vi – /viː/ (like English vee)
• skal – /skɑl/
  
  • sk like in skate
  • a similar to father, short
• dra – /drɑː/
  
  • r is tapped or flapped (quick single r)
  • long a sound
• til – /tɪl/
• Oslo – /ˈʊʂ.lʊ/
  
  • O short like English book
  • sl becomes a sh-like sound /ʂ/ in Oslo Norwegian
• i – /i/ (short ee)
• morgen – commonly /ˈmɔrən/ or /ˈmɔːɾn/
  
  • the g is often not clearly pronounced
  • sounds somewhat like MOR-en or MORN

Joined together in natural speech, many sounds blend, roughly:
/viː skɑl drɑː tɪl ˈʊʂ.lʊ ˈmɔːɾn/

Is i morgen one word or two? I’ve seen both i morgen and imorgen.

The correct standard spelling is two words: i morgen.

Examples:

• i dag – today
• i morgen – tomorrow
• i går – yesterday
• i natt – tonight / during the night

You will sometimes see imorgen in informal writing (text messages, etc.), but it’s not standard and will be marked wrong in formal contexts or exams. Stick to i morgen.

Can you drop the subject pronoun vi, like in Spanish or Italian?

No. In Norwegian, you must include the subject pronoun:

• Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen. – Correct
• Skal dra til Oslo i morgen. – Usually incorrect/unnatural (unless vi is very obvious from previous context and even then it sounds incomplete).

Norwegian verbs do not change depending on the subject (no different endings for “I go, you go, he goes”), so you need the pronoun (jeg, du, han, hun, vi, dere, de) to know who is doing the action.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Would it sound different in a more formal context?

Vi skal dra til Oslo i morgen is neutral Norwegian and works in almost any context:

• casual conversation
• talking to colleagues
• writing an email (as long as the overall email is polite)

A slightly more formal-sounding variant is:

• Vi skal reise til Oslo i morgen.

Using reise can sound a bit more bookish or formal, especially in writing, but both are acceptable in most situations. The pronoun vi and the modal skal themselves are perfectly neutral.