Hun angrer på at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe.

Breakdown of Hun angrer på at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe.

hun
she
en
a
i
in
veldig
very
at
that
historien
the story
dele
to share
angre på
to regret
gruppen
the group
privat
private
offentlig
public
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Questions & Answers about Hun angrer på at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe.

Why do we say angrer på at and not just angrer at?

In Norwegian, angre normally takes the preposition when you say what you regret.

  • Hun angrer på at … = She regrets that …
  • Jeg angrer på det jeg sa. = I regret what I said.

Using angre at without sounds wrong or very non‑standard in modern Norwegian in this meaning.

So the pattern to remember is:

  • angre på + noun / clause
    • angre på noe
    • angre på at …
What does angrer på literally mean, and is it always about regret?

Literally, angre means to regret, and is the preposition on. But you should treat angre på as a fixed pattern meaning simply to regret.

Typical uses:

  • Jeg angrer på at jeg flyttet.I regret that I moved.
  • Han angrer på kjøpet.He regrets the purchase.

It is basically always about emotional regret, not about changing plans (for that you’d often use ombestemme seg = change one’s mind).

Why is the verb at the end in at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe?

Because at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe is a subordinate clause (it starts with at = that).

In Norwegian:

  • In a main clause, the verb is normally in second position (V2):

    • Hun delte en historie.She shared a story.
  • In a subordinate clause with at, the subject comes before the verb, and the verb does not have to be in second position:

    • (Hun angrer på) at hun delte en historie.
      • at (subordinator)
      • hun (subject)
      • delte (verb)
      • rest of the clause

So: [at] + [subject] + [verb] + […] is the normal pattern.

What verb form is delte, and what is the infinitive?

Delte is the past tense (preterite) of the verb å dele (to share, to divide).

The main forms are:

  • Infinitive: å deleto share
  • Present: delershare(s) / is sharing
  • Past (preterite): delteshared
  • Past participle: deltshared (used with har: har delt = has shared)

So hun delte = she shared.

Why is it en veldig privat historie and not ei veldig privat historie?

The noun historie is grammatically feminine, but in Bokmål you are allowed to treat most feminine nouns as masculine. So you have two correct options:

  • Masculine pattern:

    • en historiea story
    • historienthe story
  • Feminine pattern:

    • ei historie
    • historia

In standard, neutral Bokmål (especially in writing), many people prefer the masculine form (en historie). That’s why the sentence has en veldig privat historie. Using ei here would also be grammatically correct, just a different style/dialect preference.

Is there any difference between privat and personlig in this sentence?

Yes, there is a nuance:

  • privat = private, not meant for others, belonging to one’s private life
  • personlig = personal, about someone’s feelings/identity, but not always something secret

In this context:

  • en veldig privat historie – a story that really should not be shared publicly; it’s from the private sphere.
  • en veldig personlig historie – a story that is very personal/intimate, but not necessarily something that must be kept secret.

Both would make sense, but privat emphasizes not for public sharing more strongly.

How strong is veldig? Could we use svært or veldig veldig?

Veldig is a very common, neutral way to say very:

  • veldig privatvery private
  • veldig bravery good

Other options:

  • svært privat – a bit more formal/literary.
  • kjempeprivat (or kjempesurt, kjempebra) – very colloquial/intense (really / super private).

Repeating veldig veldig privat would be understandable but sounds childish or extremely emphatic. Normally you just say veldig privat or svært privat.

What does offentlig gruppe mean here?

Offentlig gruppe literally means public group.

In modern usage, this often refers to something like a public group on Facebook / social media, or any group that anyone can see or join, or where the content is visible to many people.

  • offentlig = public (opposite of privat = private)
  • gruppe = group

So she shared the story in a space that’s not private, but visible to others, often many strangers.

Why is it i en offentlig gruppe and not på en offentlig gruppe?

For gruppe, the normal preposition in this context is i:

  • i en gruppein a group
  • i en klassein a class
  • i en klubbin a club

We use i because we imagine the group as something you are in (like being inside a community).

You do use with some other collective nouns:

  • på et lagon a team
  • på en skoleat a school
  • på en arbeidsplassat a workplace

But with gruppe, the natural choice is i.

Why is hun repeated: Hun angrer på at hun delte …? Could it be omitted?

In Norwegian, you must repeat the subject inside the at‑clause:

  • Hun angrer på at hun delte …
  • Hun angrer på at delte … ❌ (wrong)

Each clause (main clause and subordinate clause) needs its own explicit subject:

  • Main clause: Hun angrer på …She regrets …
  • Subordinate clause: (at) hun delte …(that) she shared …

You could rephrase to avoid repetition, for example:

  • Hun angrer på å ha delt en veldig privat historie …
    • She regrets having shared a very private story …

But inside an at‑clause, the subject cannot just be dropped.

Could we say Hun angrer på å ha delt en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe instead? Is there any difference?

Yes, that sentence is also correct:

  • Hun angrer på at hun delte …
  • Hun angrer på å ha delt …

Both mean She regrets sharing / that she shared ….

Nuances:

  • angrer på at hun delte …
    – a little more explicit, a full clause with subject + verb. Very common and neutral.

  • angrer på å ha delt …
    – uses an infinitive construction (to have shared). Also natural, maybe slightly more compact and often a bit more written‑style.

In everyday speech, both versions are used; there’s no big difference in meaning here.

How would you make this sentence negative in Norwegian?

Place ikke right after the verb angrer in the main clause:

  • Hun angrer ikke på at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe.
    She does not regret that she shared a very private story in a public group.

In the at‑clause, the word order stays the same (at hun delte …). You don’t move delte in front of hun even though there is a negation in the main clause.

Can I move i en offentlig gruppe earlier in the subordinate clause, like at hun i en offentlig gruppe delte en veldig privat historie?

That word order is possible, but it sounds marked and a bit unnatural in neutral style.

The most natural order is:

  • at hun delte en veldig privat historie i en offentlig gruppe

If you move i en offentlig gruppe earlier:

  • at hun i en offentlig gruppe delte en veldig privat historie

it puts extra emphasis on the place (in a public group) and feels more written, contrastive, or stylistically heavy. For normal, neutral Norwegian, keep:

  • [… ] at hun delte [object] i en offentlig gruppe.