væra

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• værene

Noun

væra n

1. definite plural of vær (Etymology 2)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse vera. Cognate with Nynorsk, Icelandic and Faroese vera, Swedish vara and Danish være.

Verb

væra (present tense er, past tense var, past participle vært)

1. (until 2005) To be.

Usage notes

Since kløyvd infinitiv (lit. “split infinitive”, should however not be confused with split infinitive) was removed from the official spelling rules in july of 2005, væra is no longer considered correct (see være). However, it may still appear and is still in use in the spoken dialects of Eastern Norway. Most verb infinitives in Bokmål end in -e. The kløyvd infinitiv system allowed a few of them to end in -a instead.

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

• været

Verb

væra

1. simple past of være (Etymology 2)
2. past participle of være (Etymology 2)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse vera.

Verb

væra (present tense er, past tense var, past participle vore, passive infinitive værast, present participle værande, imperative vær)

1. pronunciation spelling of vera
   • 1695, Norske Vers til Kronprintsens Bilager, volume 21, quoted in Syn og Segn, published 1915, page 272:

     gienna wille æg mæ væra

     I would like to join in

Usage notes

• This spelling was allowed between the 1917 and 1938 spelling reforms.

Etymology 2

Noun

væra n

1. definite plural of være

Etymology 3

Noun

væra n

1. definite plural of vær (non-standard since 1938)

Old Norse

Verb

væra

1. first-person singular past subjunctive of vera