# Norwegian: Vet ikke når i morra men



## Grefsen

*Tusen takk for hjelpen Pteppic og oskhen.  

Her er SMS svaret at jeg fikk:

De skal være tilbake i morgen. Vet ikke når i morra men 

Jeg forst**år "*most of this, but am not sure what is meant by*" **når i morra men 

*


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## simdal

It means that whoever wrote this doesn't know *when* "de" are supposed to return tomorrow..

Literally, "_vet ikke når imorra men_" means "_however, I don't know when_ (they return) _tomorrow_" ("they return" is understood)

"_men_" is added at the end to give the "_however_" feeling to the sentence.. "_men_" can also be added at the beginning of this part. As in "_men jeg vet ikke når imorra_" or "_men vet ikke når imorra_" without specifying "_jeg_"


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## oskhen

I suppose you understand from Simdal's explanation that "i morra" means "tomorrow", but I would just like to clarify: "I morra" is dialect/colloquial for "i morgen". When you're writing an SMS, you can write in that way, but I'll advice you not to do so in most contexts. 

Actually, I'm quite sure it's wrong, so any teacher would correct it.

(edit: simdal's "imorra" is even more colloquial)


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## simdal

oskhen said:


> I suppose you understand from Simdal's explanation that "i morra" means "tomorrow", but I would just like to clarify: "I morra" is dialect/colloquial for "i morgen". When you're writing an SMS, you can write in that way, but I'll advice you not to do so in most contexts.
> 
> Actually, I'm quite sure it's wrong, so any teacher would correct it.
> 
> (edit: simdal's "imorra" is even more colloquial)



That's just how it's become with all the English influence, slang and laziness 

I would say "_i morgen_" is very formal, and not anything I would ever use in an SMS. Maybe this has something to do with my age and where I live, I don't know..

I know that "_imorra_" is wrong, but so is "_klokka_", "_senga_" and "_iallfall_" too ("_klokken_", "_sengen_" and "_i alle fall_" respectively).. It's just the result of language evolution, and I know for sure that at least the Norwegian teacher I had wouldn't correct me in any of these examples..

My point would be that even though it's wrong, it's socially accepted to write in this way..


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## Lemminkäinen

simdal said:


> I know that "_imorra_" is wrong, but so is "_klokka_", "_senga_" and "_iallfall_" too ("_klokken_", "_sengen_" and "_i alle fall_" respectively)..



It depends on what you mean by "wrong". From a descriptive stance, "i morra" is, like Oshken said, the colloquial equivalent of "i morgen". It's something that can be useful to be aware of for learners, but it's definitely not something I would advise them to use themselves.

As for your other points, those are quite different beasts.  "Klokke and "seng" are defined as both masculine and feminine nouns in the dictionary, and both usages are fairly common. Neither "klokka" nor "klokken" is wrong. "Iallfall" and "i alle fall" are both accepted spellings as well.


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## simdal

Lemminkäinen said:


> It depends on what you mean by "wrong". From a descriptive stance, "i morra" is, like Oshken said, the colloquial equivalent of "i morgen". It's something that can be useful to be aware of for learners, but it's definitely not something I would advise them to use themselves.
> 
> As for your other points, those are quite different beasts.  "Klokke and "seng" are defined as both masculine and feminine nouns in the dictionary, and both usages are fairly common. Neither "klokka" nor "klokken" is wrong. "Iallfall" and "i alle fall" are both accepted spellings as well.



I was just bringing out examples of other words that have gone through some changes. Whether they are feminine or masculine nouns is irrelevant 

My point would be that many words are accepted today, but weren't some 40-50 years ago..

I would conclude with this:
"imorra" or "i morra" is the colloquial equivalent of "i morgen"
all three are accepted, but "i morgen" is slightly more formal than the other two..


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## Lemminkäinen

simdal said:


> My point would be that many words are accepted today, but weren't some 40-50 years ago..



Yes, words like that have gone through a lot of change. The reform of _bokmål_ in 1981 allowed for a free choice of treating traditional feminine nouns as either feminine or masculine, breaking with the reforms of 1917 (which made the -a ending obligatory for some words, while allowing for free choice in others), 1938 (which made the -a ending obligatory in about a thousand words) and 1959 (which made the -a ending obligatory in concrete feminine nouns, but allowed for free choice of -a and -en in abstract feminine nouns). 

While people's usage probably often broke with the ever-changing reforms, I still think the difference between "klokken"/"klokka" and "i morgen"/"imorra" is so large that they can't be compared. 



> I would conclude with this:
> "imorra" or "i morra" is the colloquial equivalent of "i morgen"
> all three are accepted, but "i morgen" is slightly more formal than the other two..



What do you mean by accepted, though? You won't find the first two in a newspaper, a book (except in dialogue) or in a dictionary. On the other hand, I'm not saying that those who use them in their speech are talking Norwegian "wrongly" in any way. It's absolutely an accepted part of regular, colloquial speech ("hverdagstale"). However, it's not part of what can be called normative Norwegian (which I guess would be "standard østnorsk"), and not  something I would advise learners of Norwegian to use themselves.


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## simdal

Well, that's what I meant with accepted..

You wouldn't find "imorra"/"i morra" in a newspaper, book or dictionary, but you will find it elsewhere (i.e speech, dialogue and SMS)

I would advise learners of Norwegian to _note_ the colloquial speech and have that in the back of their minds..

If I met someone talking/writing to me in such an old fashion way ("i morgen") I'd look _very_ strangely at them..


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## selters

simdal said:


> Well, that's what I meant with accepted..
> 
> You wouldn't find "imorra"/"i morra" in a newspaper, book or dictionary, but you will find it elsewhere (i.e speech, dialogue and SMS)
> 
> I would advise learners of Norwegian to _note_ the colloquial speech and have that in the back of their minds..
> 
> If I met someone talking/writing to me in such an old fashion way ("i morgen") I'd look _very_ strangely at them..


 
The only way correct to write "tomorrow" correctly in written Norwegian is _i morgen_. Many people also say _i morgen_ with standard Norwegian pronunciation. The _g_ is obviously not enunciated, unless it's done to create some humorous or ironic effect.

And unless it hasn't been clarified yet, the text message you got means this, pretty much: They should/are supposed to be back tomorrow, but I don't know when tomorrow.


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