#9 Å legge/ligge, å sette/sitte: two tricky verb pairs demystified [vokabular] [grammatikk] episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 10, 2025 · 23 MIN

#9 Å legge/ligge, å sette/sitte: two tricky verb pairs demystified [vokabular] [grammatikk]

from The Norwegian puzzle - find your missing pieces · host Silje Linn Moss

Send us Fan MailNorwegian features tricky verb pairs that confuse even native speakers: intransitive "å ligge/å sitte" (describing states) versus transitive "å legge/å sette" (describing a change of state). These verb pairs follow different rules but look similar.• Transitive verbs (å legge, å sette) require objects afterward and describe actions or changes. • Intransitive verbs (å ligge, å sitte) describe states and don't take objects.• To say "I lie down" in Norwegian, you must use the reflexive construction "Jeg legger meg". • Similarly, "I sit down" becomes "Jeg setter meg" - you must include the reflexive pronoun. • In Norwegian, objects can only "stand" (stå) or "lie" (ligge) - they cannot "sit" because they lack a "butt".• When you place a cup on a table, the result is "koppen står på bordet" (the cup stands on the table).* Comments after listening to the epsiode:1. I am sorry, I mistakenly said that "å stå" can be both transitive and intransitive. that is wrong. It is always intransitive, which means that it can not have an object attached to it (like "boka" or "meg"). But it can be used in two ways, with two meanings, just like sette/sitte, legge/ligge: it can both talk about the state of standing and the change into this state. 2. I use the word "object" with two different meanings: one is the equivalent of "thing", and the aother is the grammatical term "object", meaning a word (noun or pronoun) recieving the action of a verb (for instance: in the sentence "Jeg spiser mat", "mat" would be the grammatical object, "jeg" would be the grammatical "sucject",).3. I just realized I did not know how to conjugate the English verb "to lie (down)" properly! And that is not a lie. Now I know it's "I lay" and not "I lied". See, there are a million ways to learn languages - one can be to make a podcast ;) And you will never stop learning :P Support the showDo you like the podcast? :)Feel free to buy me a coffee :) buymeacoffee.com/thenorwegianpuzzle  ....This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Youtube, Deezer and Podcast Addict. ....Transcript available here: https://the-norwegian-puzzle.buzzsprout.com....Questions? Feedback? Get in [email protected] places to find me: www.norsk-med-silje.comwww.facebook.com/norskmedsiljewww.instagram.com/norskmedsiljewww.linkedin.com/in/silje-linn-moss

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 10, 2025

Embed this episode

Send us Fan Mail Norwegian features tricky verb pairs that confuse even native speakers: intransitive "å ligge/å sitte" (describing states) versus transitive "å legge/å sette" (describing a change of state). These verb pairs follow different rules but look similar. • Transitive verbs (å legge, å sette) require objects afterward and describe actions or changes. • Intransitive verbs (å ligge, å sitte) describe states and don't take objects. • To say "I lie down" in Norwegian, you must us...

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

Ready to play

#9 Å legge/ligge, å sette/sitte: two tricky verb pairs demystified [vokabular] [grammatikk]

0:00 23:56

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Norwegian puzzle - find your missing pieces?

This episode is 23 minutes long.

When was this The Norwegian puzzle - find your missing pieces episode published?

This episode was published on June 10, 2025.

Is there a transcript available for this episode?

Yes, a full transcript is available for this episode. You can read the complete transcript on the episode page.

Can I download this The Norwegian puzzle - find your missing pieces episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!