være
Danish edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
All forms except the present are from Old Danish wæræ, waræ, from Old Norse vera, vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to dwell, live, reside”). The present tense is derived from a different root: Proto-Germanic *izum, *izud, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”), which is also the origin of English is, are, Latin sum, and German ist. In Scandinavian, the singular has taken over the stem of the plural (with -z- > -r-).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
være (present tense er, past tense var, perfect tense har været)
- (copulative) to be (expresses identity between the subject and a predicative)
- Kierkegaard er en berømt filosof.
- Kierkegaard is a famous philosopher.
- (intransitive) to be, exist (with an adverbial phrase and/or the dummy subject der)
- På kontoret var (der) 15 ansatte.
- There were 15 employees in the office.
- (intransitive) to be (in cleft sentences emphasizing a noun phrase, with the dummy subject det and a relative clause)
- Det er Anders der har spist kagen.
- It was Anders who ate the cake.
- (auxiliary) to be (passive perfect tense with the past participle)
- Huset er bygget af træ.
- The house is built from wood.
- (auxiliary) to have (active perfect tense with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs)
- Synonym: have (used with most words)
- Pigen er løbet væk.
- The girl has run away.
Conjugation edit
Note also archaic plural form ere (Vi ere - "We are")
Derived terms edit
References edit
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology 1 edit
All forms except the present are from Danish være, from Old Norse vera, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to dwell, live, reside”). The present tense is derived from a different root: Proto-Germanic *izum, *izud, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”), which is also the origin of English is, are, Latin sum, and German ist.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
være (imperative vær, present tense er, simple past var, past participle vært, present participle værende)
- to be
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
From Old Norse viðra, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd-.
Verb edit
være (imperative vær, present tense værer, simple past and past participle væra or været, present participle værende)
- (archaic) to sense or feel
- Jeg værer fiendtlighet mellom Ola og Per.
- I can sense hostility between Ola and Per.
See also edit
References edit
- “være” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Etymology 1 edit
Noun edit
være n (definite singular været, indefinite plural være, definite plural væra)
- an existence in a location
- a place or location that someone or something can exist
Etymology 2 edit
Adjective edit
være
Etymology 3 edit
Verb edit
være (present tense er, past tense var, past participle vore, passive infinitive værast, present participle værande, imperative vær)