Det er (There Is/Are) in Norwegian

In Brief

Norwegian uses det er for both “there is” and “there are”: Det er en katt ute means “There is a cat outside,” while Det er to katter ute means “There are two cats outside.” Use er det ...? in a question, det er ikke ... in a negative statement, and det var ... when speaking about the past.

Overview

Det er is the everyday Norwegian pattern for introducing a person, thing, event, or situation that exists or is present. It is one of the most useful constructions at A1: you need it to ask whether a shop is nearby, say what is in a room, mention a problem, or describe what happened somewhere.

The word det often means “it” or “that,” but here it is a dummy subject (a grammatical subject that does not name the thing being discussed). The new information normally comes later: in Det er en kafé på hjørnet, the café is what you are introducing. English uses dummy “there” in much the same way, but there is one important simplification: Norwegian does not switch between “there is” and “there are.” Er stays the same with singular and plural nouns.

This construction builds on være “to be”. Its present form is er, and its past form is var. The core pattern is simple; later sections distinguish existential det er from other sentences that happen to contain the same two words.

How It Works

The beginner pattern

A noun is a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea. A noun phrase is that noun together with words belonging to it, such as en stol “a chair” or mange hyggelige mennesker “many friendly people.” Put the new noun phrase after det er:

Meaning	Pattern	Example
One countable thing	Det er + en/ei/et + noun	Det er et hotell her.
More than one	Det er + number/quantity + plural noun	Det er tre hoteller her.
A substance or general quantity	Det er + noun	Det er kaffe på kjøkkenet.

Norwegian verbs do not gain a separate plural form. Therefore er is correct in all three patterns:

• Det er én ledig stol. — There is one free chair.
• Det er seks ledige stoler. — There are six free chairs.

The article must still match the noun: en, ei, or et. This agreement belongs to the noun phrase, not to er.

Statements and location

A basic statement commonly has this order:

Dummy subject	Verb	New information	Place or time
Det	er	en butikk	i nærheten.
Det	er	mange folk	her i dag.
Det	var	et møte	i går.

Place and time expressions are flexible. Norwegian is a verb-second language, meaning that the finite verb (the verb carrying tense) normally occupies the second slot in an independent statement. If a place or time expression comes first, er or var follows it, and det comes after the verb:

• I nærheten er det en butikk. — Nearby, there is a shop.
• På fredag var det en konsert her. — On Friday, there was a concert here.

This is not the same as simply moving the English words around. Think in slots: first the context, then the verb, then det.

Questions

For a yes/no question, place the verb before det:

Statement	Question
Det er en bank her.	Er det en bank her?
Det var mange gjester.	Var det mange gjester?

A question word can come first:

• Hvor mange stoler er det? — How many chairs are there?
• Hvorfor er det så mange biler her? — Why are there so many cars here?
• Når var det et møte? — When was there a meeting?

Negatives

In a normal statement, put ikke “not” after the finite verb:

• Det er ikke melk i kjøleskapet. — There is no milk in the fridge.
• Det er ikke noen feil her. — There are not any errors here.
• Det var ikke mange mennesker på toget. — There were not many people on the train.

Norwegian often uses ingen, ikke noe, or ikke noen where English uses “no” or “not any”:

Norwegian	Natural English
Det er ingen her.	There is nobody here.
Det er ikke noe problem.	There is no problem.
Det er ikke noen ledige rom.	There are no vacant rooms.

After a subordinating word such as fordi “because,” ikke usually comes before er: Vi går hjem fordi det ikke er mer mat — “We are going home because there is no more food.” This subordinate-clause order is a later word-order topic; beginners can first master Det er ikke ....

Present and past

Use det er for the present and det var for the past. Neither form changes for number.

Time	Singular	Plural
Present	Det er en beskjed til deg.	Det er flere beskjeder til deg.
Past	Det var en beskjed til deg.	Det var flere beskjeder til deg.

The fixed story opening Det var en gang ... literally begins “There was once ...” and corresponds to English “Once upon a time ...”.

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Det er en katt i hagen.	There is a cat in the garden.	One new thing
Det er mange mennesker her.	There are many people here.	Plural; er does not change
Det er kaffe på bordet.	There is coffee on the table.	Substance, no indefinite article
Det er et apotek ved stasjonen.	There is a pharmacy by the station.	Useful location statement
Er det en bank i nærheten?	Is there a bank nearby?	Yes/no question
Er det noen som snakker engelsk?	Is there anyone who speaks English?	Asking whether a person is available
Hvor mange elever er det i klassen?	How many students are there in the class?	Question word first
Det er ikke noe sukker igjen.	There is no sugar left.	Negative quantity
Det er ingen hjemme.	There is nobody at home.	ingen means “nobody/no one” here
I dag er det et marked på torget.	Today there is a market in the square.	Time first; verb remains second
På hotellet er det en liten restaurant.	At the hotel there is a small restaurant.	Place first
Det var en lang kø utenfor.	There was a long queue outside.	Past singular
Det var mange mennesker på konserten.	There were many people at the concert.	Past plural
Det var en gang en prinsesse.	Once upon a time there was a princess.	Traditional story opening

Common Mistakes

Copying English singular–plural agreement

• Wrong: Det are mange mennesker her. or an invented plural form of er
• Right: Det er mange mennesker her.
• Why: Norwegian uses er with both one thing and several things. English “is/are” agreement does not carry over.

Keeping statement order in a question

• Wrong: Det er en bank i nærheten?
• Right: Er det en bank i nærheten?
• Why: A neutral yes/no question begins with the finite verb. Statement order may sound like an echo question expressing surprise, not an ordinary request for information.

Putting ikke before the verb in a main statement

• Wrong: Det ikke er melk i kjøleskapet.
• Right: Det er ikke melk i kjøleskapet.
• Why: In an independent statement, er comes before ikke. The order det ikke er belongs inside clauses such as fordi det ikke er melk “because there is no milk.”

Forgetting det after a fronted place

• Wrong: I byen er en kino.
• Right: I byen er det en kino.
• Why: Standard Norwegian normally keeps the dummy subject det, even when the location occupies the first slot.

Using det er for possession

• Wrong: Det er jeg en bil.
• Right: Jeg har en bil. — I have a car.
• Why: Det er states that something exists or is present; ha “to have” expresses possession. English “There is a car outside” uses det er, but “I have a car” does not.

Treating every det er as “there is”

• Wrong interpretation: Det er Maria = “There is Maria.”
• Right interpretation: Det er Maria = “That/It is Maria.”
• Why: Context matters. Before new indefinite information, det er is often existential. Before a name or identification, det more often means “it” or “that.”

Usage Notes

In everyday speech, det is commonly pronounced without an audible final t. You should still write det. Pronunciation varies by dialect, so listening to complete phrases such as det er and er det is more useful than forcing every written letter.

Existential sentences naturally introduce information that is new to the listener. For that reason, the noun phrase is often indefinite: en kafé, et problem, noen mennesker. A definite phrase such as kafeen “the café” normally assumes that the listener already knows which café you mean, so a simple location sentence is often phrased differently: Kafeen er på hjørnet — “The café is on the corner.”

Do not confuse existential det er with descriptions of weather or general conditions. Det er kaldt means “It is cold,” not “There is cold.” The grammar still uses dummy det and the same verb, but no new person or thing is being introduced.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these contrasts at A1, but they explain several patterns you will meet later.

Det finnes and det eksisterer

Det finnes also says that something exists or can be found. It can sound more explicitly existential than det er:

• Det finnes mange gode løsninger. — There are many good solutions.
• Finnes det liv på andre planeter? — Is there life on other planets?

Det eksisterer means “exists” in a direct, often more formal or abstract sense: Det eksisterer ingen enkel forklaring — “No simple explanation exists.” In ordinary practical questions about what is present nearby, det er remains the safest choice.

Future existence

Norwegian often uses det blir for something that will happen, appear, or be available:

• Det blir et møte i morgen. — There will be a meeting tomorrow.
• Det blir mange gjester i kveld. — There will be many guests tonight.

Det kommer til å være is also possible when you explicitly predict a future state: Det kommer til å være mye trafikk — “There is going to be a lot of traffic.” These choices add shades of meaning beyond the basic present–past pair er/var.

Presentational sentences with som

Norwegian can introduce a person or thing and then say something about it in a relative clause (a clause beginning with a word like “who” or “that”):

• Det er en mann som venter utenfor. — There is a man waiting outside.
• Det var flere som ikke forsto spørsmålet. — There were several people who did not understand the question.

The pattern is useful because it first presents the new participant, then adds information. With people, noen som ... often means “someone who ...”: Er det noen som kan hjelpe meg? — “Is there anyone who can help me?”

Existential statement or identification?

Compare these meanings:

Norwegian	Meaning	Function
Det er en lege på kontoret.	There is a doctor in the office.	Introduces a person’s presence
Det er legen min.	That is my doctor.	Identifies a known person
Legen er på kontoret.	The doctor is in the office.	Locates an already known person

The article and context guide the interpretation. An indefinite phrase such as en lege strongly favors an existential reading; a definite phrase such as legen min often identifies or refers to someone already established.

Practice Tips

1. Inventory a real place. Look around a kitchen, street, or photo and make five sentences: Det er et vindu ..., Det er to sykler ..., Det er ikke noen .... Mixing singular, plural, and negative forms makes the fixed det er pattern automatic.
2. Transform each sentence three ways. Start with Det er en butikk her, then make the question Er det en butikk her? and the past Det var en butikk her. Repeat with plural nouns without changing er to a plural form.
3. Practise fronted context aloud. Pair Det er en kafé på hjørnet with På hjørnet er det en kafé. This trains Norwegian verb-second order and prevents you from dropping det.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Være (to be) — learn the verb forms er and var used in this construction.