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Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Kan du sette deg ned her? - Can you sit down here?

Hardcore Norwegian
/Lesson 66
/Kan du sette deg ned her?

Kan du sette deg ned her?

Word

Kan du sette deg ned her?

Meaning

Can you sit down here?

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Norwegian

Lesson

Breakdown of Kan du sette deg ned her?

Questions & Answers about Kan du sette deg ned her?

Why does Norwegian use sette seg ned here instead of just sitte?

Because sette seg ned means to sit down, כלומר an action of moving into a seated position.

sitte = to sit, describing the state of already being seated
sette seg (ned) = to sit down, describing the movement into that state

So:

Kan du sette deg ned her? = can you sit down here?
Kan du sitte her? = can you sit here / can you be seated here?

That is one of the most important distinctions in this sentence.

What does deg mean here?

Deg means yourself / you as an object.

In sette seg, the verb is reflexive, so the person does the action to themself:

jeg setter meg = I sit down
du setter deg = you sit down
han setter seg = he sits down

A native English speaker may find this unusual because English usually just says sit down, without a reflexive pronoun. Norwegian often uses this reflexive structure.

Why is it sette and not setter?

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Because sette comes after the modal verb kan.

After modal verbs such as:

kan = can
skal = shall/will
må = must
vil = want to / will

the next verb normally stays in the infinitive form, without å.

So:

du setter deg ned = you sit down
kan du sette deg ned = can you sit down

That is why it is sette, not setter.

Why is the sentence written as Kan du ...? instead of Du kan ...?

In Norwegian, yes/no questions usually have the verb before the subject.

So:

Du kan sette deg ned her. = You can sit down here.
Kan du sette deg ned her? = Can you sit down here?

This verb-first order is the normal way to form a yes/no question.

What is the function of ned in this sentence?

Ned literally means down.

In sette seg ned, it helps express the idea of sitting down, not just sitting. In many cases, sette seg and sette seg ned are both possible, but ned makes the movement downward more explicit and often sounds very natural.

So:

sette seg = sit down / seat oneself
sette seg ned = sit down

In everyday speech, ned is very common in this expression.

What does her mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

Her means here.

It tells you the place where the person should sit down:

Kan du sette deg ned her? = Can you sit down here?

Its position is natural at the end of the sentence, where place expressions often go in Norwegian.

You could move things around in some contexts, but this version is the most straightforward and natural.

Is Kan du ...? polite, or does it sound too direct?

Kan du ...? is very common and often perfectly polite in everyday Norwegian, especially for simple requests.

Depending on tone and context, it can mean:

a real question about ability: Are you able to ...?
a request: Could you ...?

In practice, people very often use Kan du ...? for requests.

If you want to sound softer or more formal, you could also say:

Kan du være så snill å sette deg ned her? = Could you please sit down here?
Kunne du sette deg ned her? = Could you sit down here?

But the original sentence is normal and polite in many situations.

Could I say Kan du sitte her? instead?

Yes, but it does not mean exactly the same thing.

Kan du sette deg ned her? = Can you sit down here?
Kan du sitte her? = Can you sit here?

The second sentence focuses more on the location or arrangement: is it okay for you to be seated here?

The original sentence focuses on the action of taking a seat.

Why is it du in one place and deg in another? What is the difference?

They are different forms of you.

du = subject form, like English you as the doer
deg = object form, like English you as the receiver/object

In this sentence:

du is the person being asked
deg is part of the reflexive expression sette deg

So the structure is roughly:

Kan = can
du = you
sette deg ned = sit yourself down
her = here

English uses you for both subject and object, but Norwegian distinguishes them.

Does this sentence literally mean Can you set yourself down here?

More or less, yes. That literal breakdown can help you understand the grammar:

kan = can
du = you
sette = set
deg = yourself / you
ned = down
her = here

But you should not translate it word for word in normal English. The natural English meaning is simply Can you sit down here?

Literal analysis is useful for grammar, while the natural translation is what you would actually say.

How would a Norwegian speaker normally pronounce sette deg ned her?

In careful speech, the words are separate, but in natural speech they often flow together quite a bit.

A learner should especially notice:

sette has a short e
deg in everyday speech is often pronounced more like dei in many dialects, though pronunciation varies
ned her may sound smoothly connected in running speech

The most important thing is not to pronounce every word too heavily and separately. Norwegian rhythm is usually smoother than many learners expect.

If you speak clearly and say each word distinctly at first, that is completely fine. Natural connected pronunciation can come later.

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