r/norsk • u/dwchandler • May 30 '21

Søndagsspørsmål #386 - Sunday Question Thread

This is a weekly post to ask any question that you may not have felt deserved its own post, or have been hesitating to ask for whatever reason. No question too small or silly!

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u/magpie1862 Jun 03 '21

Just starting out on Duolingo. Came across one sentence and it suggested two possible solutions.

Ulven spiser ikke henne

Ulven spiser henne ikke

​

I'm just wondering which one sounds more natural or do they both sound normal?

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u/tobiasvl Native Speaker Jun 03 '21

They both sound normal, but they have different emphases.

  • "Ulven spiser ikke henne" – "The wolf won't/doesn't eat (or isn't eating) her" (but it will eat or is eating someone/something else)
  • "Ulven spiser henne ikke" – "The wolf won't/doesn't eat (or isn't eating) her" (either "don't worry, she's safe, she won't be eaten by the wolf" or "look, for some reason she's not being eaten by the wolf right this instant")

If you just started out I wouldn't worry too much about subtleties like this.