Following Pronoun Referents Across Spoken Sentences

Hei! Last time, you listened for a speaker’s main point while allowing examples and side comments to come and go. To do that across several sentences, you also need to keep track of what each new sentence is about. In everyday Norwegian, a speaker may mention a jacket once and then call it den three times—or use det to refer not to an object but to a whole situation.

Today you will follow den, det, de, denne, and sånn through short stretches of conversation. The aim is not to translate each word in isolation. It is to keep a running account of the people, things, and ideas the speakers have in mind.

First, listen for what is being pointed out

Norwegian demonstratives can identify something at a distance (den jakka, “that jacket”) or something close to the speaker (denne jakka, “this jacket”). Norsklærer Karense demonstrates the distinction with objects and gestures in Video 59 Demonstrativer DEN/DENNE-DET/DETTE-DE/DISSE. Watch for how the noun changes the form of the pointing word.

The forms give you a useful first filter when listening:

For example, en jakke can become den jakka (“that jacket”) or denne jakka (“this jacket”). Et skjerf can become det skjerfet or dette skjerfet. With skoene (“the shoes”), you might hear de skoene or disse skoene. When the noun is said aloud, it often gives you the answer immediately.

But conversation rarely keeps repeating the noun. After Jeg kjøpte en jakke (“I bought a jacket”), a speaker can simply say Den var dyr (“It was expensive”). Here den is no longer accompanied by jakka; you recover “the jacket” from what was said earlier. The form narrows the possibilities, while the conversation identifies the referent.

When det refers to more than an et noun

Read the examples in “Demonstratives” from Norwegian Language Learning. They distinguish Det er en stor bil (“That is a big car”) from the following Den er blå (“It is blue”). Notice that the first det does not have to agree with bil: it introduces or identifies something. Once the car is the established topic, den refers back to it.

This gives you three possible jobs for det that are worth keeping separate:

• A particular et noun: Jeg fant et skjerf. Det var billig. (“I found a scarf. It was cheap.”) Here det is the scarf.
• An event or idea: Jeg prøvde å ringe, men det hjalp ikke. (“I tried calling, but it didn’t help.”) What did not help was calling.
• An introduction or identification: Det er en jakke på stolen. (“There is a jacket on the chair.”) You need not search an earlier sentence for an et noun.

The words following det often tell you which job it is doing. Det var billig after et skjerf describes the scarf. Det hjalp ikke after an attempted action assesses that action. Det er en jakke … introduces the jacket to the conversation.

The same caution applies to de. In Jeg så noen sko. De var fine (“I saw some shoes. They were nice”), de means the shoes. In De sa at butikken stenger snart (“They said the shop closes soon”), it may mean the staff or other people known from the situation. Number helps, but meaning and context make the final decision.

Keep a running account across several turns

Imagine hearing this exchange between two people discussing a shopping trip. Read it once as conversation, without stopping at every small word.

A: Jeg fant to jakker i går, en blå og en grønn. Den blå var billig, men den var for stor.
“I found two jackets yesterday, a blue one and a green one. The blue one was cheap, but it was too big.”

B: Og den grønne?
“And the green one?”

A: Den passet, så jeg kjøpte den. Jeg fant også et skjerf. Det lå ved kassa, så jeg tok det med.
“It fitted, so I bought it. I also found a scarf. It was by the checkout, so I took it along.”

B: Hva med skoene?
“What about the shoes?”

A: De var fine, men de passet ikke. Jeg må ofte lete etter riktig størrelse. Sånn er det på salg.
“They were nice, but they didn’t fit. I often have to look for the right size. That’s how it is at sales.”

B: Denne jakka du har på deg nå, er det den grønne?
“This jacket you’re wearing now—is it the green one?”

A: Ja, det er den.
“Yes, that’s the one.”

The first den in Den blå var billig identifies the blue jacket. The following den var for stor stays with that jacket. When B asks Og den grønne?, the focus changes: the two instances of den in A’s answer now mean the green jacket. The word has not changed; the live subject of the exchange has.

Then et skjerf enters the conversation. In Det lå ved kassa, så jeg tok det med, both instances of det refer to the scarf. B’s question about skoene establishes a new plural referent, so the two instances of de in the answer refer to the shoes.

The final two turns show why a form alone is not enough. Denne jakka du har på deg nå singles out the jacket B can see on A. In er det den grønne?, det helps frame an identification question; den grønne identifies which jacket it is. A’s det er den confirms the identification. There is no newly mentioned neuter object hiding in that exchange.

Finally, Sånn er det på salg does not mean “that jacket” or “those shoes.” Sånn means roughly “like that” or “that’s the way it is.” Here it picks up the pattern A has just described: finding the right size can take some searching. It is a compact comment on the situation, not a substitute for one particular item.

Use grammar as a clue, then test it against the conversation

In natural speech you may not have time to hold every noun and pronoun in memory. A small, revisable account is enough. As you listen, note what objects or people are currently being discussed, then ask what the next sentence says about them. When a new noun or a question appears—Og den grønne? Hva med skoene?—update that account.

If two candidates remain, use both form and sense. After en jakke and et skjerf, den favors the jacket and det can favor the scarf. But do not force every det onto the nearest et noun: det fungerte ikke (“it didn’t work”) may be about an attempted plan. Likewise, sånn often asks you to recall a way of doing something or a pattern, not to select an object.

You heard a compact version of this in the hike conversation from the previous lesson. In Det begynte å regne (“It started to rain”), det is part of a weather expression, not a previously named object. In det gikk fint (“it went fine”), it assesses how things turned out. Later, Vi tar det (“Let’s do it”) picks up the proposed plan to go again. Identical written forms can have different referents even within one short conversation; the surrounding turns keep them intelligible.

For listening, this means you can postpone a decision briefly. If you hear den and are unsure which item it means, keep both plausible candidates in mind until the next descriptive word or reply settles it. A good listener’s account is updated, not fixed after the first mention.

Key takeaways

Den usually points you toward a singular en/ei referent, det may pick up an et referent or a whole event, and de can refer to a plural group. Denne singles something out as “this one,” while sånn often reaches back to a kind, manner, or situation. None of these words works reliably without the surrounding conversation: follow the current topic, notice when a question shifts it, and check that your interpretation makes sense with the next sentence.

Next, you will listen for conversational signals of topic changes, corrections, and conclusions. Those signals will help you notice when to update the running account you practiced here.