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Saying 'not' (ikke) and Where It Goes
'ikke' = not. The catch is its position, which differs from English.
If you remember nothing else
- •In a main clause, 'ikke' goes right AFTER the verb.
- •Jeg snakker ikke fransk = I don't speak French.
- •No 'do' helper like English, Norwegian negates the verb directly.
No 'do' support
English needs 'do/does/don't' to make negatives and questions ('I don't know'). Norwegian doesn't. You just put 'ikke' after the verb.
Jeg vet ikke.
I don't know.
Han liker ikke fisk.
He doesn't like fish.
Vi forstår ikke.
We don't understand.
Position after inversion
When the sentence starts with something else (V2 inversion) and the subject is a pronoun, 'ikke' comes after the subject.
I dag jobber jeg ikke.
Today I'm not working.
Nå forstår jeg ikke.
Now I don't understand.
Quick check
2 questions. Get them right to lock in the lesson.