Present Participle in Norwegian

Overview

The present participle in Norwegian is formed by adding "-ende" to the verb stem, producing forms like "snakkende" (speaking), "lesende" (reading), and "løpende" (running). While structurally simple, the present participle occupies a distinctive grammatical niche in Norwegian that differs significantly from its English counterpart. It is primarily used as an adjective or adverb, not as part of progressive verb tenses the way English "-ing" forms are.

This is a C1-level topic because Norwegian does not use the present participle to form continuous/progressive tenses. Where English says "I am reading," Norwegian says "Jeg leser" (simple present) or uses a periphrastic construction like "Jeg sitter og leser" (I sit and read). The present participle in Norwegian is therefore more limited in function but more precise in its adjectival and descriptive roles.

Mastering the present participle allows C1 learners to produce more varied and sophisticated descriptions, particularly in written Norwegian where participial phrases add elegance and concision to prose.

How It Works

Formation

The present participle is formed by adding "-ende" to the verb stem:

Infinitive	Stem	Present Participle	English
snakke	snakk	snakkende	speaking/talking
lese	les	lesende	reading
løpe	løp	løpende	running
smile	smil	smilende	smiling
overraske	overrask	overraskende	surprising
sjokke	sjokk	sjokkerende	shocking

Note: Some verbs (especially those borrowed from other languages) may form the participle with "-erende": "sjokkerende," "fascinerende," "irriterende."

As Attributive Adjective (Before a Noun)

Norwegian	English
en snakkende fugl	a talking bird
smilende barn	smiling children
den løpende hunden	the running dog
en overraskende nyhet	a surprising piece of news

Important: The present participle does not inflect for gender, number, or definiteness when used as an adjective. It always keeps the "-ende" form:

Form	Example
Indefinite singular (en)	en snakkende fugl
Indefinite singular (et)	et overraskende resultat
Definite singular	den snakkende fuglen
Plural	snakkende fugler

As Predicate Adjective (After a Verb)

Norwegian	English
Det er overraskende.	It is surprising.
Historien var fascinerende.	The story was fascinating.
Resultatet er tilfredsstillende.	The result is satisfying.

As Adverbial (Describing How Something Is Done)

Norwegian	English
Han satt lesende i stolen.	He sat reading in the chair.
Hun kom løpende.	She came running.
De gikk syngende gjennom skogen.	They walked singing through the forest.

Present Participle vs. Progressive Constructions

Norwegian does NOT use the present participle to form progressive tenses. Instead, it uses positional verbs:

English Progressive	Norwegian (Correct)	Norwegian (Wrong)
I am reading.	Jeg sitter og leser. / Jeg leser.	Jeg er lesende.
She is cooking.	Hun står og lager mat.	Hun er lagende.
They are walking.	De går og snakker.	De er gående.

The positional construction uses "sitte/stå/ligge/gå + og + verb" to convey ongoing action.

Lexicalized Participles

Many present participles have become fully lexicalized as adjectives:

Norwegian	English	Original Verb
spennende	exciting	å spenne
kjedelig	boring	(irregular)
levende	living/alive	å leve
følgende	following	å følge
vedkommende	relevant/the person concerned	å vedkomme

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
en snakkende fugl	a talking bird	Attributive adjective
smilende barn	smiling children	No inflection
Han satt lesende.	He sat reading.	Adverbial use
Det er overraskende.	It's surprising.	Predicate adjective
den syngende mannen	the singing man	Definite form
Hun kom gråtende hjem.	She came home crying.	Adverbial
et fascinerende problem	a fascinating problem	Neuter noun, no change
De stod ventende utenfor.	They stood waiting outside.	Adverbial with positional verb
en levende legende	a living legend	Lexicalized
Det var en imponerende prestasjon.	It was an impressive achievement.	Attributive
Veien er utfordrende.	The road is challenging.	Predicate
Han snakket med en beroligende stemme.	He spoke with a calming voice.	Attributive

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Jeg er lesende en bok. Right: Jeg leser en bok. / Jeg sitter og leser en bok. Why: Norwegian does not use the present participle to form progressive tenses. Use the simple present or a positional verb construction instead.

Wrong: de snakkendes barn Right: de snakkende barna Why: The present participle does not take a genitive "-s" to modify nouns. It functions as a regular adjective.

Wrong: et snakkend fugl Right: en snakkende fugl Why: The present participle always ends in "-ende" — it does not drop the final "-e" and it does not change form for gender. Also note that "fugl" is an en-word.

Wrong: Han var sittende og leste. Right: Han satt og leste. Why: The positional verb construction uses the conjugated form of the positional verb, not its participle.

Wrong: Filmen var kjedende. Right: Filmen var kjedelig. Why: "Boring" is "kjedelig" in Norwegian (an adjective), not a regular present participle form. Not all English "-ing" adjectives correspond to Norwegian "-ende" forms.

Usage Notes

The present participle is more common in written Norwegian than in casual speech. In everyday conversation, Norwegians tend to favor simpler constructions. For instance, "Hun kom løpende" (She came running) is natural in speech, but longer participial phrases like "Den langs veien løpende hunden" are distinctly literary.

There is no significant difference between Bokmål and Nynorsk in the formation of present participles, though some verb stems may differ slightly between the two written standards.

The present participle is invariable — it never changes form regardless of the noun's gender, number, or definiteness. This is actually simpler than regular adjective agreement in Norwegian, making it easy to use once you know when to use it.

At B2 and below, learners can generally get by without producing present participles, using adjectives or relative clauses instead. At C1, however, using participial forms naturally is expected, particularly in written production.

Practice Tips

1. Convert English "-ing" descriptions to Norwegian. Take sentences like "The crying baby woke us up" and translate them, paying attention to whether Norwegian uses a present participle ("den gråtende babyen") or a different construction entirely.

2. Read Norwegian literary prose and identify present participles. Authors like Karl Ove Knausgård use participial phrases frequently. Noting their placement and function builds natural feel for the construction.

3. Practice the contrast with positional verbs. For each present participle you learn, also practice the equivalent positional verb construction: "Han satt lesende" vs. "Han satt og leste." Understanding both alternatives deepens your command of Norwegian aspect.

Related Concepts

• Parent: Present Tense — The present tense system from which the present participle derives.