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Subject-Verb Inversion in Norwegian

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Subject-Verb Inversion

The subject can occur behind the first verb in a main clause in the following cases:

(1) Main clause yes-no-question:

Hoppet du?
“did you jump?”
Hoppet
hoppet
jumpPRET
V
du?
du?
2SG
PN


(2) Main clause constituent question:

Hva skjenket du henne?
“what did you give her?”
Hva
hva
whatNEUTSGQ
PROint
skjenket
skjenket
givePRET
V
du
du
2SGNOM
PN
henne?
henne?
3SGFEMACC
PN


(3) Fronted adverbial in declarative main clause:

Idag har hun hoppet langt.
“today she has jumped far”
Idag
idag
today
ADVtemp
har
har
havePRES
AUX
hun
hun
3SGFEM
PN
hoppet
hoppet
jumpPRFPTCP
V
langt
langt
 
ADV


(4) Topicalized noun phrase in declarative main clause:

Gaver skjenket hun ham hver dag.
“gifts she gave him every day”
Gaver
gaver
giftPL
N
skjenket
skjenket
givePRET
V
hun
hun
she3SGFEMNOM
N
ham
ham
3SGMASCACC
PN
hver
hver
everyCOMMSG
QUANT
dag
dag
day
N


In all cases the subject is moved behind the finite verb; this is generally referred to as Subject-Verb Inversion. In (1) this is all that happens, while in the other cases, an element is 'fronted', so to say taking over the original place of the subject.


Related pages

Sentence syntax - Norwegian

Sentence adverbials in Norwegian

Verb Complementation - Norwegian

Infinitives in Norwegian

Past and Perfective patterns in Norwegian

Personal pronouns in Norwegian

Reflexives - Norwegian

The Noun Phrase - Norwegian

Agreement in Norwegian noun phrases

Definite determiners in Norwegian

Possessive constructions in Norwegian

Gender in Norwegian nouns

Coordination marking in Norwegian

Reflexive verbs in Norwegian

Verb - Preposition expressions in Norwegian


--Lars Hellan (talk) 21:06, 27 December 2015 (CET)