Questions & Answers about Mekanikeren ringer meg i dag.
The ending -en is the definite singular form of a common‑gender noun in Norwegian.
- mekaniker = a mechanic (indefinite singular)
- mekanikeren = the mechanic (definite singular)
Norwegian usually shows “the” as an ending on the noun instead of a separate word like English the.
Ringer is the present tense of the verb å ringe (to call / to phone).
Basic forms:
- å ringe – to call
- ringer – call(s) / is calling / will call (present)
- ringte – called (past)
- har ringt – has called (present perfect)
Norwegian present tense is often used for future events when the time is clear from context, so:
- Mekanikeren ringer meg i dag.
Literally: The mechanic calls me today.
Natural English: “The mechanic is calling me today” or “The mechanic will call me today.”
Norwegian, like English, has different pronouns for subject and object:
- jeg = I (subject form)
- Jeg ringer mekanikeren. – I call the mechanic.
- meg = me (object form)
- Mekanikeren ringer meg. – The mechanic calls me.
In your sentence, “I” is the one being called (the object), so you must use meg, not jeg.
Yes, this is the standard main‑clause word order in Norwegian:
Subject – Verb – Object – Time (often abbreviated SVOT):
- Mekanikeren (Subject)
- ringer (Verb)
- meg (Object)
- i dag (Time expression)
This is a very typical pattern:
[Someone] [does] [something/someone] [when].
Yes, but then the word order must respect the V2 rule (the verb stays in second position):
- I dag ringer mekanikeren meg. – Today the mechanic is calling me.
Structure:
- I dag – adverbial (takes the first position)
- ringer – verb (must be second)
- mekanikeren – subject
- meg – object
So you can move the time expression, but the verb still has to be the second element.
With the verb å ringe meaning to phone / to call (someone), Norwegian usually does not need a preposition:
- Mekanikeren ringer meg. – The mechanic calls me.
You can sometimes see:
- ringe til meg – more literally ring to me,
but with a person as direct object, the normal, most natural form is ringe + person (no til):
- Jeg ringer deg senere. – I’ll call you later.
- Hun ringte sjefen. – She called the boss.
Yes, i is normally the preposition in, at, or on, and dag means day.
Historically i dag is like “in (this) day”, but in modern Norwegian:
- i dag is a fixed expression meaning today.
Note that standard spelling is two words: i dag, not idag (though you may sometimes see idag informally).
Å ringe is a regular -e verb. Main forms:
- Infinitive: å ringe – to call
- Present: ringer – call(s), is calling, will call
- Past: ringte – called
- Past participle: ringt – called (used with har)
Examples:
- Jeg ringer deg i morgen. – I’ll call you tomorrow.
- Han ringte meg i går. – He called me yesterday.
- Hun har ringt mekanikeren. – She has called the mechanic.
Pronunciation varies by dialect, but in common Eastern Norwegian:
- meg is often pronounced roughly like “mai” (IPA: /mæɪ/ or /mɑɪ/).
- dag is often like “dahg”, with a voiced g (IPA: /dɑːg/).
In fast or informal speech:
- the g in dag can be weakened or almost dropped in some dialects,
- meg can also sound closer to “me” in some regions, but the “mai”‑like sound is very typical in the Oslo area.
In Bokmål, mekaniker is a common‑gender noun (often treated like masculine for endings).
Common‑gender nouns usually take:
- en mekaniker – a mechanic
- mekanikeren – the mechanic
- mekanikere – mechanics
- mekanikerne – the mechanics
So the -en definite ending is the normal pattern for this type of noun.
Yes, that’s also correct:
Mekanikeren ringer meg i dag.
– Neutral present used for a scheduled/expected future action (very common).Mekanikeren skal ringe meg i dag.
– Uses skal, which can add a sense of planned or intended future (is supposed to / is going to call me today).
In everyday speech, both are natural for talking about something that will happen later today.