A1 Verb Conjugation 1 min read سهل

Irregular Present Verbs: er, gjør, sier

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

These three common verbs don't follow the standard -er rule: 'å gjøre' becomes 'gjør', 'å si' becomes 'sier', and 'å være' becomes 'er'.

  • Gjøre (to do/make) drops the -e and becomes 'gjør'. Example: Jeg gjør lekser.
  • Si (to say) adds an -er and becomes 'sier'. Example: Hun sier hei.
  • Være (to be) is completely irregular and becomes 'er'. Example: Det er bra.
Infinitive (å...) → Irregular Present Stem (er / gjør / sier)

Present Tense Conjugation

Infinitive Present Tense Meaning
å være
er
to be
å gjøre
gjør
to do/make
å si
sier
to say

Meanings

These verbs describe existence, actions, and speech, serving as the foundation for almost every Norwegian sentence.

1

Existence (Være)

To be or exist.

“Jeg er norsk.”

“Det er en hund.”

2

Action (Gjøre)

To perform an action or make something.

“Hva gjør du nå?”

“Jeg gjør jobben min.”

3

Speech (Si)

To communicate verbally.

“Hva sier du?”

“Hun sier ingenting.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Irregular Present Verbs: er, gjør, sier
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subject + Verb
Jeg er her.
Negative
Subject + Verb + ikke
Jeg er ikke her.
Question
Verb + Subject?
Er du her?
Short Answer
Ja/Nei + Verb
Ja, det er jeg.

طيف الرسمية

رسمي
Hva gjør De?

Hva gjør De? (Social interaction)

محايد
Hva gjør du?

Hva gjør du? (Social interaction)

غير رسمي
Hva gjør'u?

Hva gjør'u? (Social interaction)

عامية
Hva skjer?

Hva skjer? (Social interaction)

The Irregular Trio

Irregular Verbs

Existence

  • er is/am/are

Action

  • gjør do/make

Communication

  • sier say
سجّل مجاناً لقراءة الشرح الكامل

أمثلة حسب المستوى

1

Jeg er glad.

I am happy.

2

Hva gjør du?

What are you doing?

3

Hun sier hei.

She says hi.

4

Det er fint.

It is nice.

1

Vi er ikke hjemme.

We are not home.

2

Han gjør leksene sine.

He is doing his homework.

3

Hva sier læreren?

What does the teacher say?

4

Er du klar?

Are you ready?

1

Det gjør ingenting om du kommer sent.

It doesn't matter if you arrive late.

2

Hun sier at hun er trøtt.

She says that she is tired.

3

Hvor er det du gjør av nøklene?

Where do you put the keys?

4

Det er vanskelig å si hva som skjer.

It is hard to say what is happening.

1

Det er ikke til å tro hva han gjør.

It is unbelievable what he is doing.

2

Hun sier det er en god idé.

She says it is a good idea.

3

Hva gjør man i en slik situasjon?

What does one do in such a situation?

4

Det er sagt at han er en dyktig leder.

It is said that he is a skilled leader.

1

Det er sjelden man sier noe så direkte.

It is rare that one says something so direct.

2

Han gjør sitt ytterste for å lykkes.

He does his utmost to succeed.

3

Det er vanskelig å si seg enig i det.

It is difficult to agree with that.

4

Hva gjør du for å forbedre deg?

What are you doing to improve yourself?

1

Det er i sannhet en merkelig ting å si.

It is truly a strange thing to say.

2

Man gjør vel i å lytte når hun sier noe.

One does well to listen when she says something.

3

Det er ikke bare hva man gjør, men hvordan.

It is not just what one does, but how.

4

Hun sier det er uunngåelig.

She says it is inevitable.

سهل الخلط

Irregular Present Verbs: er, gjør, sier مقابل Regular vs Irregular

Learners try to add -r to irregular verbs.

Irregular Present Verbs: er, gjør, sier مقابل Å være vs Å bli

Both can mean 'to be' in some contexts.

Irregular Present Verbs: er, gjør, sier مقابل Å gjøre vs Å lage

Both mean 'to make/do'.

أخطاء شائعة

✗

Jeg erer

✓

Jeg er

Don't add -er to irregular verbs.
✗

Hun gjører

✓

Hun gjør

The stem is already complete.
✗

De sierer

✓

De sier

Double -er is incorrect.
✗

Jeg er ikke

✓

Jeg er ikke

This is correct, but often placed wrong.
✗

Er du gjør?

✓

Hva gjør du?

Confusing the verb 'er' with 'gjør'.
✗

Han sier ikke

✓

Han sier ingenting

Using 'ikke' with 'si' can be awkward.
✗

Det er gjør

✓

Det gjør

Mixing two verbs.
✗

Det er sagt

✓

Det sies

Passive voice confusion.
✗

Jeg gjør det ikke

✓

Jeg gjør ikke det

Word order nuance.
✗

Han er sier

✓

Han sier

Overusing 'er'.
✗

Det er å si

✓

Det vil si

Idiomatic usage error.
✗

Han gjør seg

✓

Han gjør seg til

Missing reflexive particle.
✗

Det sier seg

✓

Det sier seg selv

Missing object.
✗

Hun gjør det

✓

Hun gjør det

Correct, but contextually weak.

أنماط الجُمل

Jeg ___ ___.

Hva ___ du?

Det ___ ikke noe.

___ du klar for det?

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Hva gjør du?

Job Interview very common

Jeg gjør mitt beste.

Food Delivery App common

Det er klart.

Social Media very common

Det er så gøy!

Travel common

Hvor er hotellet?

Classroom very common

Hva sier læreren?

سجّل مجاناً لرؤية جميع الأمثلة
💡

Don't conjugate

Remember that these verbs are the same for everyone. Don't add endings!
⚠️

Watch the spelling

Gjør and Sier are easy to misspell. Practice writing them.
🎯

Use them in chunks

Learn phrases like 'Det er bra' instead of just the verb.
💬

Listen to natives

You will hear these in every sentence. Pay attention to how they sound.

Smart Tips

Check if it's one of the Big Three before adding -r.

Jeg værer her. → Jeg er her.

Start with the verb.

Du er her? → Er du her?

Put 'ikke' after the verb.

Jeg ikke er her. → Jeg er ikke her.

Use 'sier' followed by 'at'.

Hun sier hun er glad. → Hun sier at hun er glad.

النطق

/jør/

Gjør

The 'gj' is pronounced like a soft 'y' sound.

/si:ər/

Sier

The 'i' is long.

Question

Er du her? ↗

Rising intonation at the end.

احفظها

وسيلة تذكّر

Remember 'EGS': Er, Gjør, Sier. Think of an 'Egg' that is 'Sier' (sizzling).

ربط بصري

Imagine a robot (Gjør) saying (Sier) that it is (Er) a human.

Rhyme

Er, Gjør, Sier, these are the ones, they don't follow rules, they have all the fun!

Story

A robot named Gjøre wanted to be human. He walked up to a person and said 'Er' (I am). The person laughed and said 'Sier' (you say that?). The robot then started to do (gjør) a dance.

Word Web

ergjørsierværegjøresi

تحدٍّ

Write 3 sentences using each verb in 5 minutes.

ملاحظات ثقافية

In Oslo, 'gjør' is often pronounced very clearly.

They might use different verb forms entirely in some contexts.

They often shorten words even more.

These verbs have roots in Old Norse.

بدايات محادثة

“

Hva gjør du i helgen?

“

Hva sier du til en kaffe?

“

Hva er det viktigste du gjør på jobb?

“

Hva gjør man når det er dårlig vær?

مواضيع للكتابة اليومية

Write about your day using 'er' and 'gjør'.
What do you say to friends when you are happy?
Describe a difficult task you do at work.
Reflect on how your actions define who you are.

أخطاء شائعة

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

Jeg ___ glad.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: er
Være becomes er.
Choose the correct verb. اختيار متعدد

Hva ___ du?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: gjør
Gjøre becomes gjør.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Hun gjører lekser.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hun gjør lekser
No -er ending.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hva gjør du?
Standard question order.
Translate to Norwegian. الترجمة

She says hi.

Answer starts with: Hun...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hun sier hei
Si becomes sier.
Match the infinitive to the present. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: er
Være becomes er.
Select the correct form. Conjugation Drill

De ___ her.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: er
Er is the form for all.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

jeg / ikke / er / sulten

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jeg er ikke sulten
Correct word order.

Score: /8

تمارين تطبيقية

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

Jeg ___ glad.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: er
Være becomes er.
Choose the correct verb. اختيار متعدد

Hva ___ du?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: gjør
Gjøre becomes gjør.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Hun gjører lekser.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hun gjør lekser
No -er ending.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

du / hva / gjør / ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hva gjør du?
Standard question order.
Translate to Norwegian. الترجمة

She says hi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hun sier hei
Si becomes sier.
Match the infinitive to the present. Match Pairs

å være - ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: er
Være becomes er.
Select the correct form. Conjugation Drill

De ___ her.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: er
Er is the form for all.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

jeg / ikke / er / sulten

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jeg er ikke sulten
Correct word order.

Score: /8

الأسئلة الشائعة (8)

No, they are the same for all subjects.

Because they don't follow the standard '-r' rule.

Only for 'to be'. Use 'gjør' for actions.

'Gjøre' is the infinitive, 'gjør' is the present.

Add 'ikke' after the verb.

Yes, but these are the most important.

Yes, they are standard in all registers.

Just memorize the three forms: er, gjør, sier.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

سجّل مجاناً للتدريب

In Other Languages

Spanish low

ser, hacer, decir

Norwegian verbs are invariant.

French low

être, faire, dire

Norwegian is much simpler.

German moderate

sein, tun, sagen

German conjugates, Norwegian doesn't.

Japanese low

desu, suru, iu

Sentence structure is completely different.

Arabic low

kāna, fa'ala, qāla

Norwegian lacks gendered verb endings.

Chinese moderate

shì, zuò, shuō

Chinese uses tone and particles.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Connected Grammar

Regular Verb Conjugation

Contrast

To see how most verbs work.

Subject Pronouns

Prerequisite

You need these to build sentences.

Word Order

Builds On

To place the verb correctly.

Negation

Builds On

To make negative sentences.

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