# Norwegian-bokmål: formation of adverbs



## 涼宮

Good morning everyone!

Is there any rule to form adverbs from adjectives or even from nouns? I mean the last letters -ly and -y in English.

Instances:

water=watery
quick=quicly
careful=carefully
complete=completely
good=well

And a big so on.

Thank you very much in Advance


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## oskhen

涼宮 said:


> Good morning everyone!
> 
> Is there any rule to form adverbs from adjectives or even from nouns? I mean the last letters -ly and -y in English.
> 
> Instances:
> 
> water=watery
> quick=quicly
> careful=carefully
> complete=completely
> good=well
> 
> And a big so on.
> 
> Thank you very much in Advance



I think most adjectives may be used as adverbs in the neuter form ("Han snakker pent" and "Han snakker raskt", for instance). But there are always irregularities, of course.

When it comes to nouns, I suppose it usually works just to put "ete" as a suffix. But it varies significantly whether that is good Norwegian.

That's what I could think of at the moment. I've got a feeling I've left out something important, though.


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## 涼宮

Thank you! 

So mostly of cases you use neuter and for nouns -ete

The adjective 'good' is irregular for adverb in norwegian?


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## louisjanus

<...>

Also don't forget the suffixes -aktig  (vannaktig)  and -messig (regelmessig)


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## Tjahzi

Haha, interesting to hear that "adjectives may be used as adverbs in the neuter form". We consider neuter adjectives and adverbs to be separate forms, despite being identical.


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## oskhen

Tjahzi said:


> Haha, interesting to hear that "adjectives may be used as adverbs in the neuter form". We consider neuter adjectives and adverbs to be separate forms, despite being identical.



Yes, they are separate, it was just meant as an easy way to explain it.


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## louisjanus

Yes, the usual distinction between grammatical form and function is valid here. Note (if it was I who wrote "adjectives may be used as adverbs in the neuter form") the '*used as* ' part.


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## Tjahzi

Ahh, indeed. I was not picking on it, I just took it for the standard way to view it according to Norwegian scholars (which would have made it yet another example of now Swedish and Norwegian say pretty much the same thing in different ways). 

However, I very much agree about Oshken's point about putting it that way being much more pedagogic.


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## oskhen

Tjahzi said:


> Ahh, indeed. I was not picking on it, I just took it for the standard way to view it according to Norwegian scholars (which would have made it yet another example of now Swedish and Norwegian say pretty much the same thing in different ways).



I really have no idea how Norwegian scholars usually view this, so please don't think I'm representative.


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## 涼宮

<...>



louisjanus said:


> Also don't forget the suffixes -aktig (vannaktig) and -messig (regelmessig)


What funtion have those suffixes?

Another way to form adverbs?


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## louisjanus

Both -*aktig* and -*messig* are adjective-forming suffixes. And since you don't add -t to get the corresponding adverb, the forms also ACT as adverbs

If you look up **aktig *or **messig* on the online bokmålsordboka, you will get a list of words that end with those suffixes. 

http://www.edd.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=*aktig&bokmaal= &

Or on lexin:
http://decentius.hit.uib.no/lexin.h...checked-languages=N&search=*aktig&run-search=


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## 涼宮

Merci beaucoup!


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