Common Irregular Verbs in Norwegian

Overview

Norwegian irregular verbs — also called strong verbs — form their past tense and past participle by changing the stem vowel rather than adding a regular suffix. These are among the most frequently used verbs in the language: going, seeing, coming, saying, and doing are all irregular. While the pattern is less predictable than the four regular verb classes, the high frequency of these verbs means you will encounter and memorize them quickly through sheer repetition.

This is an A1 concept that builds on Present Tense. Just like regular verbs, irregular verbs take -r in the present tense (går, ser, kommer). The irregularity appears in the past tense (gikk, så, kom) and past participle (gått, sett, kommet), where the vowel changes rather than a suffix being added.

Norwegian has far fewer irregular verbs than English, and unlike English, there is no person agreement to worry about — the same past form works for all subjects. This makes the task manageable: learn the three principal parts (infinitive, past, participle) and you are done.

How It Works

The Three Principal Parts

Every Norwegian verb has three key forms. For irregular verbs, you must memorize all three:

Infinitive	Past (Preteritum)	Past Participle (Perfektum)	English
gå	gikk	gått	go
se	så	sett	see
komme	kom	kommet	come
gjøre	gjorde	gjort	do/make
si	sa	sagt	say
finne	fant	funnet	find
skrive	skrev	skrevet	write
drikke	drakk	drukket	drink
gi	ga	gitt	give
ta	tok	tatt	take
ligge	lå	ligget	lie (position)
sitte	satt	sittet	sit
stå	stod	stått	stand
få	fikk	fått	get/receive
bli	ble	blitt	become/stay
vite	visste	visst	know (a fact)

Vowel Change Patterns

While each verb must be memorized individually, some share vowel patterns:

Pattern	Infinitive → Past → Participle	Examples
i → a → u	drikke → drakk → drukket	drikke, finne, synge
i → e → e	skrive → skrev → skrevet	skrive, drive, rive
å → o → å	gå → gikk → gått	gå (irregular within pattern)
i → a → i	gi → ga → gitt	gi, sitte, ligge

These patterns can serve as memory aids, but they have many exceptions. Treat each verb as an individual item to memorize.

Present Tense Is Still Regular

Even irregular verbs follow the standard present-tense rule of adding -r:

Infinitive	Present	Past
gå	går	gikk
se	ser	så
komme	kommer	kom
skrive	skriver	skrev
gi	gir	ga

Using Irregular Verbs in Perfect Tense

The past participle is used with "har" (has/have) to form the perfect tense:

Norwegian	English
Jeg har gått til jobb.	I have walked to work.
Hun har sett filmen.	She has seen the movie.
Vi har kommet hjem.	We have come home.
De har skrevet brevet.	They have written the letter.

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Jeg gikk på butikken i går.	I went to the store yesterday.	gå → gikk
Hun så en rev i skogen.	She saw a fox in the forest.	se → så
De kom for sent til møtet.	They came too late to the meeting.	komme → kom
Han sa at han var trøtt.	He said that he was tired.	si → sa
Vi skrev et langt brev.	We wrote a long letter.	skrive → skrev
Jeg fant nøklene mine.	I found my keys.	finne → fant
Hun drakk kaffe hver morgen.	She drank coffee every morning.	drikke → drakk
De tok bussen til jobben.	They took the bus to work.	ta → tok
Han fikk en gave til bursdagen.	He got a present for his birthday.	få → fikk
Hun ble lege i fjor.	She became a doctor last year.	bli → ble
Jeg har gitt boka til ham.	I have given the book to him.	gi → gitt (participle)
Vi har sittet her i en time.	We have sat here for an hour.	sitte → sittet (participle)

Common Mistakes

Applying regular endings to irregular verbs

• Wrong: Jeg gåtte til jobb.
• Right: Jeg gikk til jobb.
• Why: "Gå" is a strong verb — it changes its vowel in the past tense. No suffix is added.

Confusing past tense and past participle

• Wrong: Jeg har gikk hjem.
• Right: Jeg har gått hjem.
• Why: "Har" requires the past participle (gått), not the simple past (gikk).

Mixing up "så" (saw) with "så" (so/then)

• Wrong: Interpreting "Jeg så filmen" as "I, so, the movie"
• Right: Jeg så filmen. = I saw the movie.
• Why: "Så" has multiple meanings in Norwegian. As a past tense of "se," it means "saw." Context makes the meaning clear.

Using the wrong participle ending

• Wrong: Jeg har skrivd et brev.
• Right: Jeg har skrevet et brev.
• Why: Strong verbs have their own participle forms that must be memorized. "Skrive" → "skrevet," not a regular -d or -t ending.

Usage Notes

Irregular verbs are equally common in all registers, from casual speech to formal writing. In Bokmål, the forms listed above are standard. Nynorsk sometimes has different past forms (e.g., "skreiv" instead of "skrev"), but the Bokmål forms are what you will encounter in most learning materials.

Some verbs have optional forms in Bokmål. For example, "ga" and "gav" are both accepted past tenses of "gi." Your textbook or teacher may prefer one, but both are correct.

Practice Tips

1. Make flashcards with three columns. Write the infinitive, past tense, and past participle on each card. Drill them daily — with only about 30-40 high-frequency irregular verbs, this is a finite and achievable task.

2. Tell stories in the past tense. Narrate your day using irregular verbs: "Jeg gikk til jobb, jeg så vennen min, vi drakk kaffe, hun sa at..." Chaining verbs in context cements them far better than isolated drilling.

3. Group verbs by vowel pattern. Even though the patterns are not perfectly consistent, grouping "drikke/drakk/drukket" with "finne/fant/funnet" creates memory links that help when you encounter a new strong verb.

Related Concepts

• Parent: Present Tense — all verbs, regular and irregular, use the -r present tense ending
• Related: Regular Verb Classes — the four weak verb patterns that cover the majority of Norwegian verbs