Questions & Answers about Vi spiser middag hjemme i kveld.
Why is spiser used here? Does it mean eat or are eating?
Spiser is the present tense of å spise (to eat).
In Norwegian, the present tense often covers both:
- we eat
- we are eating
So Vi spiser middag hjemme i kveld can naturally mean:
- We eat dinner at home tonight
- We’re eating dinner at home tonight
Because the sentence includes i kveld (tonight/this evening), English usually prefers We’re eating dinner at home tonight, but Norwegian does not need a separate are eating form here.
Why isn’t there a word for are in the sentence?
Norwegian does not form the present continuous the same way English does.
In English, you say:
- We eat
- We are eating
In Norwegian, both ideas are often expressed with the simple present:
- Vi spiser
If you want, Norwegian can sometimes use other structures to emphasize an ongoing action, but in everyday speech the simple present is very common.
What exactly does middag mean? Is it always dinner?