Impersonal Constructions in Norwegian

In Brief

Norwegian avoids naming a specific doer mainly by using man for people in general—Man kan ikke vite alt (“You cannot know everything”)—or det in patterns such as Det sies at … (“It is said that …”). Impersonal passives and fixed det expressions are especially common in rules, recommendations, reports, and neutral explanations.

Overview

An impersonal construction presents an action, situation, or judgment without identifying one particular person as responsible. The grammatical subject (the person or thing that a sentence is built around) may be generic man, or it may be det, a word that fills the subject position without referring to a concrete object. English uses several equivalents: generic “you,” formal “one,” “it” in “it is said,” and “there” in “there is.” The best translation therefore depends on context rather than on one fixed word.

At B1, the central contrast is practical. Use man when unnamed people are understood to act: Man må ha billett. Use an impersonal passive when the action or message matters more than the people behind it: Det anbefales å kjøpe billett på forhånd. A passive describes what is done or what happens while leaving the doer unmentioned or in the background.

These patterns occur everywhere in Norwegian: conversations, instructions, public notices, journalism, academic prose, and workplace communication. They also let a speaker soften advice or distance themselves from a claim. Compare direct Du bør bestille nå (“You should book now”) with general Man bør bestille tidlig (“It is best to book early / You should generally book early”).

How It Works

1. Generic man

Man is a generic pronoun (a word standing for an unspecified person or group). It means “people in general,” “one,” or generic “you.” It is always grammatically singular, but Norwegian verbs have the same form with all persons anyway.

Purpose	Pattern	Example	Natural English
General fact	man + verb	Man lærer av feil.	You learn from mistakes.
Possibility	man + kan + infinitive	Man kan ta toget.	You can take the train.
Necessity or rule	man + må/skal + infinitive	Man må vise legitimasjon.	You must show ID.
Advice	man + bør + infinitive	Man bør bestille tidlig.	One should book early.

Do not translate man automatically as formal English “one.” Generic “you” is usually more natural in conversation, while “people” or an impersonal English passive may fit other contexts.

Man is different from the noun mann (“man”) and its definite form mannen (“the man”):

• Man må vente her. — You/one must wait here.
• Mannen må vente her. — The man must wait here.

Traditional object and possessive forms connected with generic man are en (“one” as an object) and ens (“one’s”):

Role	Norwegian	English
Subject	Man venner seg til været.	You get used to the weather.
Object	Slikt kan gjøre en usikker.	That can make you unsure.
Possessive	Det påvirker ens valg.	It affects one’s choices.

Ens often sounds formal. In ordinary speech, speakers may restructure the sentence or use generic du instead.

2. Impersonal det

In many sentences, det is a dummy subject: a grammatical placeholder that does not point to a particular “it.” The real content comes later as an infinitive phrase or a clause.

Pattern	Example	Meaning
det + er + adjective + å + infinitive	Det er vanskelig å velge.	It is difficult to choose.
det + er + adjective + at-clause	Det er viktig at alle kommer.	It is important that everyone comes.
det + passive + å + infinitive	Det anbefales å bestille.	Booking is recommended.
det + passive + at-clause	Det sies at han er rik.	It is said that he is rich.

An infinitive is the basic verb form, normally marked by å, as in å velge (“to choose”). An at-clause is a full clause introduced by at (“that”), usually with its own subject: at alle kommer.

The delayed phrase contains the main information. Norwegian, like English, often prefers the short placeholder first rather than beginning with a long clause. Å lære norsk tar tid is possible, but Det tar tid å lære norsk is often more natural and balanced.

3. Det with the -s passive

Many impersonal statements use a verb ending in -s. In the present tense, this form is common when stating rules, procedures, reports, or recommendations.

Active idea	Impersonal passive	English
Folk sier at …	Det sies at …	It is said that …
Vi anbefaler å …	Det anbefales å …	It is recommended to …
Noen forventer at …	Det forventes at …	It is expected that …
De krever legitimasjon.	Det kreves legitimasjon.	ID is required.

The passive removes the need to name folk, vi, noen, or de. The -s form is particularly natural in concise written instructions: Dørene stenges klokka 18 (“The doors close/are closed at 6 p.m.”).

Not every passive needs det. If another noun is the subject, use that noun: Søknaden behandles i morgen (“The application will be processed tomorrow”). Det appears when no ordinary subject is placed first, or when a following clause or infinitive supplies the content.

4. Passive with bli

Norwegian can also form the passive with bli plus a past participle. A past participle is the verb form used in combinations such as blir sendt (“is sent”) or ble avlyst (“was cancelled”).

• Det blir sendt ut mer informasjon i morgen. — More information will be sent out tomorrow.
• Det ble bestemt at møtet skulle utsettes. — It was decided that the meeting would be postponed.

Broadly, the -s passive often suits general rules, regular procedures, and compact formal language. Bli + participle more readily presents an event or change, and it makes tense especially clear: blir gjort (present/future context), ble gjort (past), har blitt gjort (perfect). The distinction is a tendency, not a mechanical rule.

5. Fixed impersonal phrases

Some common expressions must be learned as whole patterns.

Expression	Typical continuation	Meaning
Det går an …	å betale med kort	It is possible/acceptable …
Det gjelder …	noun or å + infinitive	It concerns … / the point is to …
Det finnes …	noun	There is/are …
Det ser ut til at …	clause	It looks as though …
Det kommer an på …	noun/question word	It depends on …
Det trengs …	noun	… is needed
Det er lov/ikke lov …	å + infinitive	It is permitted/not permitted …

In Det finnes mange løsninger, English uses existential “there,” not “it”: “There are many solutions.” This is a good reminder that Norwegian det does not always correspond to English “it.”

6. Word order still applies

Impersonal constructions follow ordinary Norwegian main-clause word order. In a statement, the finite verb—the verb marked for tense—normally occupies the second position. If another element comes first, man or det moves after the verb.

• Man kan betale med kort her.
• Her kan man betale med kort.
• Det anbefales å bestille på forhånd.
• På travle dager anbefales det å bestille på forhånd.

Notice the final example: when på travle dager is first and the passive verb is second, det follows the verb. Writing På travle dager det anbefales … incorrectly copies English subject placement.

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Man skal ikke løpe her.	You must not run here.	General rule with man
Man kan ikke like alle.	You cannot like everyone.	General observation
I Norge tar man ofte av seg skoene inne.	In Norway, people often take off their shoes indoors.	Fronted phrase; verb before man
Etter hvert lærer man å kjenne byen.	Gradually, you get to know the city.	Generic experience
Det kan gjøre en nervøs.	It can make you nervous.	Generic object en
Det sies at han er rik.	It is said that he is rich.	Report with -s passive
Det anbefales å bestille bord.	Booking a table is recommended.	Recommendation plus infinitive
Det forventes at alle møter presis.	Everyone is expected to arrive on time.	Expectation plus at-clause
Det kreves gyldig pass ved innsjekking.	A valid passport is required at check-in.	Requirement with a following noun
Det ble bestemt at kontoret skulle stenge.	It was decided that the office would close.	Past event with bli passive
Det er lett å ta feil.	It is easy to make a mistake.	Adjective plus infinitive
Det er viktig at du sier fra.	It is important that you let us know.	Adjective plus full clause
Her går det an å bade hele året.	You can swim here all year round.	Fixed phrase and fronted place
Det finnes flere mulige løsninger.	There are several possible solutions.	Existential det finnes
Om vinteren trengs det varme klær.	In winter, warm clothes are needed.	Fronted phrase; det after the verb

Common Mistakes

Treating man as the noun “man”

• Wrong: Mannen kan ikke vite alt. (when you mean everyone in general)
• Right: Man kan ikke vite alt.
• Why: Mannen refers to one identifiable male person. Generic man has one n and refers to people generally.

Using man for a specific person

• Wrong: Man ringte meg i går. (meaning “someone called me”)
• Right: Noen ringte meg i går.
• Why: Man expresses a general human subject, not one unknown individual. Use noen for “someone.”

Copying English word order after an opening phrase

• Wrong: I Norge man spiser mye brød.
• Right: I Norge spiser man mye brød.
• Why: The finite verb comes second in a Norwegian main clause. When I Norge is first, the subject follows the verb.

Adding det when another subject already fills the role

• Wrong: Det søknaden behandles i morgen.
• Right: Søknaden behandles i morgen.
• Why: Søknaden is already the grammatical subject. The placeholder det is unnecessary.

Omitting det from a delayed-clause pattern

• Wrong: Er viktig å bestille tidlig.
• Right: Det er viktig å bestille tidlig.
• Why: Standard Norwegian normally requires a subject in this pattern, and det fills that position.

Translating every English generic “you” as du

• Less suitable in a neutral rule: Du må vise pass ved grensen.
• Neutral alternative: Man må vise pass ved grensen. / Det kreves pass ved grensen.
• Why: Du directly addresses the listener and may be exactly right in friendly instructions. Man generalizes, while the passive sounds more institutional.

Usage Notes

Man, generic du, and passive style

All three choices can describe a general situation, but they create different relationships with the reader.

Choice	Typical effect	Example
du	Direct, conversational, reader-friendly	Du kan kjøpe billett i appen.
man	General, neutral, sometimes slightly detached	Man kan kjøpe billett i appen.
Passive	Procedure-focused, official, no visible actor	Billetter kan kjøpes i appen.

Generic du is widespread in modern speech and informal explanatory writing. Man remains normal, but repeating it in every sentence can feel heavy. Formal texts often choose passive wording, although too many passives can make prose distant or bureaucratic.

Bokmål, Nynorsk, and variation

This article teaches Bokmål. In Nynorsk, generic ein commonly corresponds to Bokmål man: Ein lærer av feila sine. You may also encounter en used as a generic subject in some Bokmål usage. As a learner, man is a safe, widely understood Bokmål choice; recognize variation without mixing forms randomly within a polished text.

Weather, time, and situations

Norwegian also uses impersonal det for weather, time, distance, and general conditions:

• Det regner. — It is raining.
• Det er sent. — It is late.
• Det er langt til sentrum. — It is a long way to the city center.
• Det var stille i huset. — It was quiet in the house.

Here det still does not identify a concrete object. These basic patterns belong to the wider family of impersonal constructions, though they do not involve a generic human doer or a passive.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Moving the reported subject forward

Norwegian can sometimes replace Det sies at … with a more compact pattern in which the person or thing being discussed becomes the subject:

• Det sies at han er rik. — It is said that he is rich.
• Han sies å være rik. — He is said to be rich.

The second structure uses subject + passive reporting verb + å + infinitive. Similar patterns include Hun antas å bo i Oslo (“She is assumed to live in Oslo”) and Tiltaket forventes å ha effekt (“The measure is expected to have an effect”). This style is concise and common in news, reports, and formal writing, but it can sound less conversational.

Det as a placeholder versus a referring pronoun

Not every det is impersonal. In Jeg kjøpte et kart, men jeg mistet det, det refers back to et kart (“I bought a map, but I lost it”). In Det er vanskelig å lese kartet, it is a placeholder. A useful test is to ask whether det has a specific noun as its meaning. If not, and the real content follows later or describes a general situation, it is probably formal or impersonal det.

Keeping or revealing the agent

A passive can still mention the agent (the person or body performing the action), usually with av:

• Reglene fastsettes av kommunen. — The rules are set by the municipality.

Once the agent is important, an active sentence may be clearer: Kommunen fastsetter reglene. Impersonal style is most useful when the agent is unknown, obvious, unimportant, or deliberately left in the background. Avoid using it merely to hide responsibility when the reader needs to know who acts.

Perspective and caution

Det sies at … reports a claim without endorsing it or identifying a source. That distance can be useful, but it may also make a statement vague. In careful factual writing, naming the source is stronger: Ifølge rapporten … (“According to the report …”). Grammar gives you the option to suppress the source; good style requires deciding whether that omission helps the reader.

Practice Tips

1. Rewrite one idea three ways. Start with Du kan bestille på nettet, then try Man kan bestille på nettet and Det går an å bestille på nettet. Note how direct, general, or neutral each version feels.
2. Collect complete frames, not isolated words. Make cards for Det sies at …, Det anbefales å …, Det er viktig at …, and Det kommer an på …. Add your own realistic ending to each frame.
3. Practice inversion aloud. Put a time or place first: Her kan man …, I dag anbefales det …, Om vinteren trengs det …. This connects impersonal constructions with the verb-second word order you need in every Norwegian main clause.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: S-Passive — explains the passive verb forms in sies, anbefales, and kreves.