I - inn - inne: What are the differences?
/i inn inne
“I, inn, inne” - what do they mean and how are they used? A student of mine asked me this question, and I was amazed that nobody has ever asked me that before!
The grammatical function of «i» is preposition. And it can be translated with «in» in English, at least when talking about physical location. Whenever you use «i» and other prepositions for physical locations, it's quite easy to translate from English to Norwegian. When we talk about anything abstract, then the use of prepositions gets less straightforward.
Just to give you an example: we say «i morgen» to say «tomorrow» and «om morgenen» to say «in the morning» in English. Confused? Well, time is abstract (even though you might feel the time passing on your body, you can not physically touch time …). Therefore the use of prepositions in English for time (and other abstract terms) will often not be the same as in Norwegian, because there is no true logical preposition to use.
I’m sorry about this! Or maybe I am sorry on this? Am I sorry in this? In Norwegian I would say “jeg er lei for det”. So there you go, another example of abstract stuff: feelings! I guess we just need to learn how to deal with prepositions not always making sense, just like we have to deal with our feelings not always being reasonable ;)
Now let’s go back to the matter of this blogpost!
When it comes to «inn» and «inne», they're adverbs. That means that they alone have all the meaning they need to give you full information about something. I don't need to add anything after them to make an understandable sentence, while «i», which is a preposition, has to come with a noun for instance to make sense.
I would have to say:
“Jeg bor i Oslo.” (I live in Oslo)
I can not just say:
“Jeg bor i.” (I live in)
Right? That doesn’t make sense. Something is missing.
While if I use the adverbs «inn» and «inne», I could say for instance.
«Jeg er inne.» (I am inside.)
I don't have to say inside of what. In the context you would understand, whether it is at home or somewhere else. But if I wanted to say “inside of + something”, I would need to say “inne i + something”. “I” would come in and connect “inne” with whichever place I would like to add.
So the «i» can be translated with «in». While «inn» and «inne» can both be translated with «inside». “Inside of (…)” translates to “inne i (…)”. And there is a difference between «inn» and «inne» that does not exist the same way in English.
“Jeg går inn.” I'm going inside. I'm not there yet inside, but moving there.
“Jeg er inne.” I am inside. I am already there.
“Jeg spiser inne.” Anything I am doing while being inside would also need «inne».
What can be confusing is that sometimes we use both «i» and «inne» or «inn» together. We don't always need to do that, but in some cases it is necessary. Then it can be translated with «inside of».
In some rare cases with motion verbs like «to go» for instance, it is helpful to add «inn» or «inne».
“Jeg går inn i huset.” I go inside of the house (I go in). I was just outside.
“Jeg går (inne) i huset.” I am walking around inside. “Inne” can be skipped.
“Jeg sykler inn i skogen.” I am biking towards the inside of the forest.
“Jeg sykler (inne) i skogen.” I am in the forest biking. «Inne» can be skipped.
Sometimes «inne» and «i» are combined in one word: «inni». It means the same as «inne i» (inside of) or just «i» («in» for physical location).
If your sentence does not contain a verb that has anything to do with moving from A to B, then there's no point in using both.
“Jeg legger maten (inn) i kjøleskapet.” I put the food (inside of)/in the fridge.
“Maten ligger (inne) i kjøleskapet.” The food is (inside of)/ in the fridge.
In these examples, the use is like what we call «smør på flesk» in Norwegian («butter on flesh»). It's two times the same. I don't need it. It's like saying «a round circle» or «a square square». It does not give you any new information, but it doesn't hurt to put it there either.
I hope this makes it all clearer! Feel free to ask if you have any questions :)
Ha en fin dag!
Silje