Lot og Abram skiller lag

The future tense in Norwegian expresses actions or events that will happen in the future. It is often formed using the auxiliary verb "skal" or "vil," followed by the infinitive form of the main verb. "Skal" is used to express intention, a plan, or a determination, while "vil" often indicates a will, desire, or a less definite future action. Both can be used for making predictions about the future, but their use sometimes depends on the speaker's perspective and the context of the action.

Additionally, "å komme til å" is used to predict events that are likely to happen, often without the speaker's intention to influence the outcome. Besides these, the present tense can also describe future events, especially when the context makes it clear that the action is planned or expected to happen in the future.

Examples from the text:

• "Vi skal ikke krangle" (We shall not argue) - "skal" is used here to express a determination or agreement about future behavior, indicating a strong intention that they will avoid arguing in the future.
• "Hvis du går til venstre, går jeg til høyre. Og hvis du går til høyre, går jeg til venstre" (If you go to the left, I will go to the right. And if you go to the right, I will go to the left) - This conditional sentence implies future actions based on Lot's choice. Although the future tense is not explicitly formed with "skal" or "vil" here, the context clearly indicates future actions.
• "Du kommer til å ha mange barn" (You will have many children) - "kommer til å" explicitly forecasts a future event, predicting Abram will have many descendants, indicating certainty about future outcomes without implying Abram's intention or will to bring it about.

Conjunctions in Norwegian are words used to connect clauses, sentences, words, or phrases. They play a crucial role in structuring sentences and coordinating ideas, indicating relationships such as addition, contrast, choice, consequence, and reason. Common Norwegian conjunctions include "og" (and), "men" (but), "eller" (or), "fordi" (because), "så" (so), and "hvis" (if). Each serves to create logical connections between parts of a sentence, making the text coherent and the progression of ideas clear.

Examples from the text:

• "Vi er familie og skal ikke krangle" (We are family and should not argue) - The conjunction "og" (and) is used to add information, linking two related ideas: being a family and inappropriateness of arguing.
• "Men det var ikke nok plass til dem begge fordi de hadde så mye" (But there was not enough space for both of them because they had so much) - "Men" (but) introduces a contrast to the previous idea, while "fordi" (because) provides the reason for the lack of space, connecting cause and effect within the sentence.
• "Hvis du velger å gå til venstre, går jeg til høyre; og hvis du går til høyre, går jeg til venstre" (If you choose to go left, I will go right; and if you go right, I will go left) - "Hvis" (if) introduces conditional clauses, indicating different future actions based on Lot's choice. "Og" (and) connects these two conditional possibilities, emphasizing the alternatives available.
• "Så de skilte lag" (So they parted ways) - "Så" (so) is used here to indicate the consequence of the decisions made by Abram and Lot, leading to their separation.

The past tense, or "preteritum" in Norwegian, is used to describe completed actions or events that occurred in the past. It is formed in different ways depending on whether the verb is a regular or irregular. Regular verbs typically add -et, -te, -dde, or -de to the verb stem to form the past tense, while strong verbs change the vowel in the verb stem. The preteritum does not require auxiliary verbs, distinguishing it from the perfect tense, which uses the auxiliary verb "har" (have).

Examples from the text:

• "Abram reiste til det stedet hvor han tidligere hadde satt opp teltet sitt" (Abram traveled to the place where he had previously set up his tent) - "reiste" is the past tense of "å reise" (to travel), demonstrating a completed action in the past.
• "Der hadde han bygget et alter og påkalt Herrens navn" (There he had built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord) - "bygget" (built) and "påkalt" (called upon) are both in the past tense, indicating actions Abram completed in the past. Note that "hadde" here introduces a past perfect construction, which is used to talk about an action that occurred before another past action.
• "Lot valgte Jordan-sletten og flyttet østover" (Lot chose the Jordan Plain and moved eastward) - "valgte" (chose) and "flyttet" (moved) are in the past tense, showing Lot's actions of choosing and moving as completed in the past.
• "Abram bosatte seg i Kanaan" (Abram settled in Canaan) - "bosatte" is the past tense of "å bosette seg" (to settle), indicating that Abram's action of settling occurred in the past.