Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hver rad i tabellen viser en ny verbtid, fra nåtid til framtid. - Each row in the table shows a new verb tense, from present to future.

The definite form (raden, huset) already means “the row / the house”. You can’t combine hver (“each”) with a definite noun; they conflict in meaning. So hver rad is the only correct form here.

Why is rad singular in hver rad, even though in English we say “each row” but mean many rows?

Norwegian works the same way as English here: hver is grammatically singular and takes a singular noun and a singular verb.

hver rad ... viser = each row shows
The verb viser agrees with the singular subject hver rad.

Even though you are talking about all the rows together, grammatically you treat them one by one, so you use singular.

Why is it hver rad i tabellen and not i en tabell?

Tabellen is in the definite form and means “the table”, referring to a specific table the reader already knows about (for example, one shown on a page or just mentioned).

en tabell = a table (non‑specific)
tabellen = the table (specific, known one)

Norwegian usually expresses definiteness by adding a suffix:

tabell → tabellen (“the table”)
rad → raden (“the row”)
bok → boka / boken (“the book”)

So i tabellen literally means “in the table”, understood as “in this particular table”.

Why is the preposition i used in i tabellen? Could it be på tabellen?

Here, i tabellen means “in the table” in the sense of “inside this organized structure of rows and columns”. That’s the normal choice in Norwegian for data arranged in a table.

i tabellen – in the table (inside the structure / grid)
på tabellen – on the table (more like on the surface of a physical object)

So:

A value, a word, or a row is usually i tabellen.
A coffee cup or a book is på bordet (“on the table” – the piece of furniture).

For the kind of table you have in documents, spreadsheets, grammar charts, i tabellen is standard.

What is the function of viser here, and what tense is it?

Viser is the present tense of the verb å vise (“to show”).

å vise – to show
jeg viser – I show / I am showing
radene viser – the rows show

Norwegian present tense covers both English “show” and “are showing”, so viser can be translated either way depending on context:

Hver rad i tabellen viser ...
→ “Each row in the table shows ...”
or “Each row in the table is showing ...”

Both are acceptable translations of the same Norwegian form.

Why is it en ny verbtid and not et ny verbtid or ei ny verbtid?

The article en is chosen because the noun verbtid has common gender (also called “masculine/feminine merged”), like en stol, en bok.

Verbtid is a compound: verb + tid. In Norwegian, a compound noun gets the gender of its last part.

tid is a common‑gender noun: en tid / ei tid
therefore verbtid is also a common‑gender noun: en verbtid

So:

en ny verbtid = a new verb tense
ny agrees with a common‑gender noun in the singular.

Why is verbtid written as one word in Norwegian and not as two words like in English?

Norwegian tends to write compound nouns as a single word.

English: verb tense (two words)
Norwegian: verbtid (one word)

Other examples:

table row → tabellrad
word list → ordliste
school book → skolebok

If you split Norwegian compounds into two words, it can look wrong or even change the meaning. So verbtid must be one word here.

What does fra ... til ... do in fra nåtid til framtid?

The phrase fra X til Y means “from X to Y” and is very common:

fra mandag til fredag – from Monday to Friday
fra side 10 til side 20 – from page 10 to page 20
fra Norge til Sverige – from Norway to Sweden

In the sentence:

fra nåtid til framtid = from present tense to future tense / from the present to the future

It marks a range or progression: the rows go through the tenses starting at nåtid and ending at framtid.

Why is there no article in nåtid and framtid (no en, ei, or et)?

Here nåtid (“present time / present tense”) and framtid (“future / future tense”) are used as abstract, general concepts, not as specific instances.

Norwegian often drops articles with abstract or general nouns, especially in such pairs:

Nåtid og framtid er temaet. – The present and the future are the topic.
Kjærlighet og hat – love and hate
Liv og død – life and death

You could theoretically say en nåtid / en framtid in a very specific, unusual context, but in grammar explanations and general statements you normally don’t use an article.

What is the difference between framtid and fremtid? Are both correct?

Both framtid and fremtid are accepted in Bokmål, but framtid is more in line with Nynorsk and many spoken dialects.

fremtid – more traditional / conservative Bokmål spelling
framtid – alternative Bokmål form; also the standard form in Nynorsk

Meaning and usage are the same: both mean “future” (both in the time sense and in grammar, “future tense”). The choice is mostly about style and variety of Norwegian.

Can nåtid also mean just “present time” and not specifically “present tense”?

Yes. Nåtid literally means “now‑time” and can refer to:

The present time in a broad sense:
- I nåtid og fortid har folk alltid ... – In the present and the past, people have always ...
The present tense in grammar explanations (as in this sentence).

Context will tell you which meaning is intended. In a grammar table that lists verb forms, nåtid will typically be understood as “present tense”.

Could the word order be I tabellen viser hver rad en ny verbtid ...? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, I tabellen viser hver rad en ny verbtid, fra nåtid til framtid is also grammatical.

Hver rad i tabellen viser ... – neutral statement, light focus on each row.
I tabellen viser hver rad ... – puts a bit more emphasis on in the table as the starting point of the sentence.

The basic meaning (“each row in the table shows a new verb tense...”) does not change; only the emphasis and rhythm of the sentence shift slightly. Both are natural Norwegian.