verbplassering

Verbplassering, or verb placement, is a central topic in Norwegian grammar that concerns where the finite verb appears within a clause. It governs how sentences are built in both written and spoken language and interacts with tense, mood, conjunctions, and sentence type. The concept is especially important when contrasting main clauses with subordinate clauses, and it also affects how auxiliary and modal verbs behave.

In main clauses (hovedsetninger), Norwegian typically uses a verb-second (V2) order. The finite verb usually occupies the second position, following the first element of the clause. This first element can be a subject, an adverbial, or a fronted phrase. Examples: "I går spiste jeg frokost." or "Aldri har jeg sett noe lignende." In questions, the verb often appears before the subject due to inversion, as in "Hva gjør du?" or "Har du sett det?"

In subordinate clauses (underordnede setninger), the finite verb generally appears later in the clause than in main clauses, and its exact position can depend on the conjunction and the presence of other elements. Subordinate clauses are introduced by conjunctions such as at (that), om (whether), fordi (because), hvis (if), and når (when). Example: "Jeg tror at han kommer i morgen." The clause ends with other elements after the verb, so the verb is not in second position here.

Additionally, negation, auxiliary verbs, and modals affect verb placement. For example, in a main clause with negation, the negation word typically follows the finite verb: "Han spiser ikke." Periphrastic tenses (har spist, hadde sett) place the auxiliary verb before the participle in main clauses, while subordinate clauses may mirror this with slight variation.

See also: Norwegian syntax, verb-second, word order.