Breakdown of Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet.
Questions & Answers about Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet.
Må is a modal verb that expresses necessity or obligation in the present.
- It usually corresponds to English “must” or “have to”.
- In this sentence, Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet can be understood as:
- “You must write your name in the form.”
- “You have to write your name in the form.”
It does not include å (the infinitive marker) after it. Instead, it is followed directly by the infinitive skrive:
- Du må skrive … (correct)
- Du må å skrive … (incorrect)
Skrive inn is a particle verb that means “to enter / to fill in / to write into” something, especially:
- typing into a field on a computer
- filling in a field on a form
Nuance:
- skrive on its own = simply “to write”
- skrive inn = write something into a specific place (a form, a field, a system)
So:
- Du må skrive navnet ditt = You must write your name (somewhere, not specified).
- Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet = You must enter/fill in your name in the form (specific action and place).
Yes, both are grammatical:
- Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet.
- Du må skrive navnet ditt inn i skjemaet.
In Norwegian, the particle (inn) can go:
- Directly after the verb: skrive inn navnet ditt
- After the object: skrive navnet ditt inn
Both are natural. Many speakers slightly prefer the first version (skrive inn navnet ditt) in written language, but the difference is minor in everyday speech.
Norwegian follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb (here må) must be in second position in the sentence.
Breakdown:
- Du – subject (first position)
- må – finite verb (second position)
- skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet – the rest of the sentence
So:
- Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet. (correct)
- Du skrive inn må navnet ditt i skjemaet. (wrong – the finite verb is not second)
This V2 pattern is very regular in Norwegian main clauses.
Both are possible, but they have slightly different usage and feel:
- navnet ditt = noun + postposed possessive
- ditt navn = preposed possessive + noun
In modern Norwegian:
Postposed possessive (navnet ditt) is the most common and neutral way:
- Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet. (normal, everyday style)
Preposed possessive (ditt navn) often:
- sounds a bit more formal, emphatic, or focused
- is more common in written instructions or legal/official style
So you can say:
- Du må skrive inn ditt navn i skjemaet.
This is correct, but it sounds slightly more formal or emphatic than navnet ditt, which is more neutral and conversational.
Norwegian possessive pronouns agree with the grammatical gender and number of the noun they refer to.
- The noun here is navn (name), which is neuter:
- indefinite: et navn
- definite: navnet
The corresponding possessive for “your” with a neuter noun is ditt:
- et navn → ditt navn (your name)
- navnet ditt (your name – definite, with postposed possessive)
Other forms for “your” (singular, informal):
- din – with masculine nouns (e.g. din bil – your car)
- di – with feminine nouns (e.g. di veske – your bag)
- ditt – with neuter nouns (e.g. ditt hus, ditt navn)
- dine – with plural nouns (e.g. dine bøker – your books)
So ditt is required here because navn is a neuter noun.
Skjema means “form” (as in a document you fill out). It is a neuter noun:
- Indefinite singular: et skjema – “a form”
- Definite singular: skjemaet – “the form”
For most neuter nouns:
- Add -et to make the definite singular:
- et hus → huset (the house)
- et språk → språket (the language)
- et skjema → skjemaet (the form)
In the sentence, i skjemaet = “in the form” (a specific form that both speaker and listener understand from context).
The preposition i usually means “in / inside”, and it’s the normal choice for writing inside something:
- i boka – in the book
- i dokumentet – in the document
- i skjemaet – in the form
Alternatives:
- på skjemaet (“on the form”) would usually suggest writing on the surface of a physical form (e.g. literally on the paper), but for the meaning “fill in the form”, i skjemaet is standard.
- til skjemaet (“to the form”) would sound wrong here for the idea of filling in a field.
So for filling in or entering something into a form, you typically use i skjemaet.
Du is the normal, informal singular “you” in Norwegian. It’s used:
- with friends
- with family
- with colleagues
- with most strangers, even in shops, offices, etc.
Traditional polite form:
- There is a formal De (with capital D) and Dem, roughly like German Sie, but:
- it is rare in modern Norwegian
- mostly found in very formal writing, old texts, or in special contexts
In almost all everyday situations, including instructions like this, Du is the correct and expected form.
In normal full sentences, you keep the subject:
- Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet. (normal Norwegian)
However, in short instructions, notes, or informal messages, Norwegians sometimes omit the subject:
- Må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet.
→ This sounds like a very informal note or reminder (“[You] have to write your name in the form.”).
More commonly, for instructions, Norwegian would use the imperative instead:
- Skriv inn navnet ditt i skjemaet. – “Enter your name in the form.”
So:
- For a full sentence with a subject: Du må …
- For a command on a button or in a form: Skriv inn … (imperative) is more natural.
Yes, you can, and it’s very common.
Du må skrive inn navnet ditt i skjemaet.
- Means: “You must / have to enter your name in the form.”
- Feels slightly more like stating a requirement or rule.
Skriv inn navnet ditt i skjemaet.
- Imperative (command): “Enter your name in the form.”
- Feels more like a direct instruction (e.g. on a website, on a paper form, or spoken).
In user interfaces, forms, and signs, the imperative version (Skriv inn …) is probably the most typical.