Questions & Answers about Det var en kjip kveld.
Why does the sentence start with det?
In Det var en kjip kveld, det works like it in English in sentences such as It was a nice day or It was a long evening.
Norwegian often uses det in this kind of general statement about a situation, event, or period of time. It does not necessarily refer to a specific thing.
So:
- Det var en kjip kveld = It was a lousy/boring evening
- Det var en fin dag = It was a nice day
What form is var?
Var is the past tense of å være (to be).
A few common forms are:
- er = am / is / are
- var = was / were
- vært = been
So Det var en kjip kveld is in the past: It was a bad evening.
Why is it en kveld and not just kveld?
Because kveld is a countable noun here, and Norwegian normally uses an article in this kind of sentence, just like English uses a:
- en kveld = an evening
So:
- Det var kveld would mean something more like It was evening / It was nighttime
- Det var en kjip kveld means It was a lousy evening, referring to one particular evening as an event or experience