Ikke gi opp bare fordi du er trøtt; vi kan ta en pause og fortsette etterpå.

Don’t give up just because you’re tired; we can take a break and continue afterwards.

Breakdown of Ikke gi opp bare fordi du er trøtt; vi kan ta en pause og fortsette etterpå.

• være: to be
• du: you
• en: a
• vi: we

Questions & Answers about Ikke gi opp bare fordi du er trøtt; vi kan ta en pause og fortsette etterpå.

Why does the sentence start with Ikke?

Because it’s a negative command (a negative imperative). In Norwegian, you typically form a negative imperative by putting ikke before the verb:

• Gi opp! = Give up!
• Ikke gi opp! = Don’t give up!

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Is gi opp one verb or two words? What does opp do?

It’s a verb + particle combination (often called a phrasal verb in English terms): å gi opp. The particle opp is essential to the meaning; gi alone usually means give (as in give something to someone), but gi opp means give up / quit.

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Why is there no å before gi and fortsette?

Two reasons:

1. After Ikke here you have an imperative, and imperatives don’t use å:
   • (Å) gi opp (infinitive) vs Gi opp! (imperative)
2. After a modal verb like kan, you also do not use å:
   • vi kan ta (not vi kan å ta)
   • vi kan … fortsette (not vi kan å fortsette)

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What’s the grammar of bare fordi?