Chapter 1

Nouns

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Different types of noun

Nouns comprise two main groups: proper nouns (or names) and common or generic nouns (those denoting non-specific people, places, things or ideas).

1.1.1.1 Proper nouns

Bergen; Synnøve [woman’s name]; Per [man’s name]; Aftenposten [newspaper]; Statoil; Tyskland, Germany

As in English, proper nouns are written with an initial capital letter (12.3.1), unlike common nouns. They also differ from common nouns in that they do not generally have a definite form or a plural form, though this does occasionally occur, e.g. Volvoen, ‘the Volvo’; Dolomittene, ‘the Dolomites’. They do, however, in many instances have an –s genitive form: Pers mor, ‘Per’s mother’; Norges Bank, ‘the Bank of Norway’.

1.1.1.2 Common nouns

datamaskin, computer; hus, house; jente, girl; katt, cat; natt, night

Types of common noun:

  1. (a) Count nouns are nouns denoting an individual countable entity and, therefore, usually possess a plural form. In the examples, the indefinite plural is used for illustration:

    kake − kaker, cake − cakes; lærer − lærere, teacher − teachers; hus – hus, tree − trees

    Some abstract nouns are count nouns:

    farge − farger, colour; glede − gleder, joy; sykdom − sykdommer, illness

  2. (b) Non-count nouns often denote an abstract concept or substance and are therefore usually without a plural form:

    frykt, fear; kjærlighet, love; håp, hope; søvn, sleep

    Many non-count nouns denote substances:

    bensin, petrol; luft, air; vann, water

    Most abstract nouns are non-count (cf. (a) above):

    hvithet, whiteness; lykke, happiness; musikk, music

1.1.2 Three genders or two?

See also 1.2.1f.

1.1.2.1

Grammatical gender, which is not found in English, is a system of noun classification in which most common nouns belong to one category or another (but see 1.2.1). Some nouns, such as those only existing in the plural (1.2.1, 1.5.2), have no gender. Gender is revealed when words related to the noun, such as articles, pronouns, determiners or adjectives, change their form according to the gender of the noun (see below). This is called ‘agreement’.

Nouns in Norwegian Bokmål officially have one of three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.

Masculine

en blomst, a flower; blomsten, the flower; blomsten min, my flower (see also 4.4.1.1); denne blomsten er liten, this flower is small; (cf. den er liten, it is small)

en gutt, a boy; gutten, the boy; gutten min, my boy (see also 4.4.1.1); denne gutten er liten, this boy is small (cf. han er liten he is small)

Feminine

en/ei hytte, a cottage; hytten/hytta, the cottage; hytten min/hytta mi, my cottage; denne hytten/hytta er gammel, this cottage is old (cf. den er gammel it is old)

en/ei jente, a girl; jenten/jenta, the girl; jenta mi, my girl; denne jenta er klok, this girl is sensible (cf. hun er klok, she is sensible)

Neuter

et brev, a letter; brevet, the letter; brevet mitt, my letter; dette brevet er langt, this letter is long (cf. det er langt, it is long)

1.1.2.2

But the feminine–masculine division is not applied consistently. Since 2005, it is no longer obligatory in Bokmål to use the specifically feminine forms, and instead the masculine form is often used for feminine nouns. For this reason, it is possible to think of Norwegian Bokmål as possessing just two grammatical genders for nouns (in the same way as Danish and Swedish); these genders are then called common gender and neuter. (There are more than two genders for pronouns. See Chapter 4.)

In referring to nouns denoting inanimates (i.e. lifeless things), there are two pronouns: den (for nouns that are masculine or feminine) and det (for neuter nouns), cf. 4.2.4.6, 1.

Masculine (common) gender nouns take the determiner (indefinite article) en, feminine nouns take ei and neuter nouns et. In the definite form, the masculine (common gender) noun ends in –(e)n, the feminine in –en/–a, and the neuter in –(e)t. In the Oslo Corpus of Bokmål, only 1% of nouns in actual use are feminine, i.e. may have ei. See 1.2.3.

1.1.3 Indefinite plural forms

For definite plural forms, see 1.10.3.

Norwegian nouns form their indefinite plural in three main ways, by adding either the endings –(e)r, –e or zero (no ending). These are the main rules:

Masculine

en by – by/er, town – towns

en time – time/r, hour – hours

en lærer – lærer/e, teacher – teachers

Feminine

en bygd/ei bygd – bygd/er, district – districts

en krone/ei krone – krone/r, crown – crowns

Neuter

et eple – eple/r, apple – apples

et språk – språk, language – languages

See 1.4. For plurals of loanwords see 1.4.7.

1.1.4 The genitive in –s

Norwegian nouns have a basic (unmarked) form and a genitive form in –s. See 1.8.

Basic form Genitive form
en gutt, a boy en gutts hånd, a boy’s hand
gutten, the boy guttens hånd , the boy’s hand
gutter, boys gutters hender, boys’ hands
guttene, the boys guttenes hender, the boys’ hands

1.2 An outline of gender

1.2.1 General points on gender

1.2.1.1

Normally, a noun will have only one gender. Thus, the neuter noun hus, ‘house’ will take the determiners et or det and can take the adjective form stort, ‘big’. Compare et stort hus – det huset er stort ‘a big house’ – ‘that house is big’. Similarly, the common gender noun mus, ‘mouse’ will take the determiner en or den and the adjective form stor, and cannot take et or stort.

1.2.1.2

There are some exceptions, however:

  1. (a) Some common gender nouns can be used as feminines (1.1.2). This goes for mus, for example; some people can and do write ei mus, den musa, ‘a mouse, that mouse’, others en mus, den musen (or even en mus, den musa). In principle, this applies to a sizeable proportion of common gender nouns.
  2. (b) Some nouns have a ‘mixed’ agreement pattern. That is, they may select, for example, a masculine determiner but a feminine pronoun. For example, en skiløper, ‘a skier’ has the masculine determiner en. But, if we are talking about a woman skier, we will still refer to her using the feminine pronoun hun, ‘she’. These cases are not infrequent. Unlike mus, there is no way of avoiding the feminine pronoun here. Similarly, et postbud, ‘a postie’ will not normally be referred to as det, ‘it’ but as han or hun.
  3. (c) A very few nouns that have different genders in different types of Norwegian such as ekorn, ‘squirrel’, lås, ‘lock’ and strekk, ‘stretch’ may be either masculine or neuter gender, and a few nouns may take any of three genders, for example gardin, ‘curtain’; greip, ‘pitchfork’ and nyre, ‘kidney’.
  4. (d) Some noun homonyms (nouns with the same spelling but different meanings, see 1.7) have different genders. For example, lem can either mean 1 ‘limb’, in which case it is neuter, or 2 ‘shutter’, in which case it is a common gender noun. Notice that this example is very different from mus and gardin, as they will always have the same meaning whatever gender they have. They remain the same word. By contrast, lem 1 and lem 2 are two different words. These cases are rare, however.
  5. (e) Nouns that are only used in the plural, such as opptøyer, ‘riots’, do not have a gender for the simple reason that gender only shows in the singular.
  6. (f) Similarly, nouns that are only used in fixed expressions, such as kapp in the phrase om kapp, ‘in competition’, cannot be said to have any gender (as there is no agreement evidence).

1.2.2 Introduction

1.2.2.1

  1. (a) About 75 percent of all nouns are masculine or feminine gender, and about 25 percent are neuter gender. Loan nouns are predominantly masculine (but see 1.3.2.2). Whilst it is clearly advisable to learn each noun with its gender, the guidelines in 1.2.4ff should provide some help in predicting gender. In many cases, either the meaning of the noun or its suffix provides a clue as to its gender.

1.2.2.2

Gender also determines the form of the adjective in the indefinite singular and the form of some determiners and pronouns, as these usually agree in gender and number with nouns (see 2.1.1 and 2.1.4):

Indefinite

Definite

Masculine

en stor by

den store byen

a large town

the large town

Feminine

en stor seng/ei stor seng

den store sengen/

den store senga

a large bed

the large bed

Neuter

et stort skap

det store skapet

a large cupboard

the large cupboard

Similar examples:

Byen er stor.

The town is large.

Sengen/Senga er stor.

The bed is large.

Skapet er stort.

The cupboard is large.

Den store byen er pen.

The large town is pretty.

Det store skapet er pent.

The large cupboard is pretty.

1.2.3 Feminine gender

1.2.3.1

Feminine nouns with the definite form –a sometimes appear with the indefinite article ei:

bygda, the district ei bygd, a district

The indefinite article ei is not much used in Bokmål, cf. 1.1.2.2 (but is frequent in the spoken language). When it is used, it is often found with nouns which have a form that is specifically Norwegian (i.e. one that differs from the written Danish that for a long period was used in Norway), nouns such as ei ku, ‘a cow’; ei øy, ‘an island’ (cf. Danish ‘en ko’, ‘en ø’). Some authors use the feminine determiner ei more frequently. Ei can also be used as a stylistic device, for example in fiction in order to render speech. The common gender indefinite form en is, therefore, commonly found with the feminine noun: en ku, ‘a cow’; en øy, ‘an island’.

1.2.3.2

As regards article use and the use of the possessive with the feminine noun, there is considerable variation, though the following pattern is frequent in the written language.

en bygd is more frequent than ei bygd

a district

min bygd is much more frequent than mi bygd

my district

bygden/bygda are both frequent

the district

bygden min/bygda mi

my district

(Not *bygda min or *bygden mi) are both frequent

1.2.3.3 a-forms

In written Bokmål, the a-form, where –a is the definite marker (see also 1.10.2.3), has become the preferred form in a number of cases such as the following, in all of which it is also possible to use the alternative form –en:

boka, the book; gata, the street; katta, the cat; lomma, the pocket; uka, the week

Note 1 – Before 2005 some feminine nouns had an obligatory –a ending in the definite singular, but the –a ending is now optional:

en/ei hytte – hytta/hytten

cabin

Note 2 – Before 2005 nouns ending in –ning were masculine; they are now either masculine or feminine:

en/ei setning – setninga/setningen

sentence

Note 3 – The definite plural form of neuter nouns can have –a as an alternative to –ene, but this is less common (see 1.10.3.1 Note 6):

barna, the children; beina, the legs

1.2.4 Common gender by meaning

For the sake of simplicity, in this book we will often only use the indefinite article en with feminine nouns and refer to both masculines and feminines as ‘common nouns’.

1.2.4.1 Words for human beings

Natural gender usually coincides with grammatical gender:

Masculine (en) Feminine (en/ei)
en mann, a man en/ei kvinne, a woman
en gutt, a boy en/ei jente, a girl
en bror, a brother en/ei søster, a sister
en far, a father en/ei mor, a mother
en vert, a host en/ei vertinne, a host

Note 1 – Exceptions. Some nouns denoting people are neuter, including:

et barn, a child; et bud, a messenger; et geni, a genius; et individ, an individual; et medlem, a member; et menneske, a human being; et vitne, a witness

When referring to barn and menneske, the pronoun det is often used:

Barnet hadde lagt seg, så vi fikk ikke se det.
The child was in bed so we couldn’t see it.

But in many other cases of neuter nouns referring to human beings, such as vitne, ‘witness’, and postbud, ‘postie’, han/hun ‘he/she’ are usually found:

Da det verdenskjente geniet reiste seg, kunne alle se hvor høy hun er.
When the world-famous genius stood up, everybody could see how tall she is.

Note 2 – With nouns of common gender describing people, han or hun is used rather than the common gender pronoun den when referring to an individual:

en gjest, a guest; en lege, a doctor; en person, a person

Legen var på vei hjem fra sykehuset da hun ble arrestert.
The doctor was on the way home from the hospital when she was arrested.

Note 3 – Words denoting human beings of unspecified sex normally take the common gender determiner:

en agent, an agent; en baptist, a Baptist; en kunde, a customer; en lærer, a teacher; en sjåfør, a driver; en skotte, a Scot

Note 4 – Nouns of neuter gender do not alter their gender when used to depict a human being:

Han er et svin.

He is a swine.

1.2.4.2 Words for animals

It is more difficult to generalise as to the gender of words for animals:

  1. (a) If there is one word for the male and another for the female, natural gender coincides with grammatical gender:
    Masculine – Male Feminine – Female
    en hane, a cockerel en/ei høne, a hen
    en galt(e), hog en/ei sugge, a sow
    en okse, an ox en/ei ku, a cow
    en vær, a ram en/ei søye, a ewe
  2. (b) However, in some cases one gender possesses a specific denotation, while the other also denotes the entire species:

    Species name

    en bukk, a (male) goat; en/ei geit, a goat/(female) goat; en/ei binne, a (female) bear; en bjørn, a bear

  3. (c) Species names are usually but not always common gender:

    en elg, an elk; en hare, a hare; en hest, a horse; en hund, a dog; en katt, a cat; en spurv, a sparrow; en tiger, a tiger; en løve (m/f), a lion; en mus (m/f), a mouse; en svane (m/f), a swan; et ekorn, a squirrel; et lam, a lamb; et lemen, a lemming

1.2.4.3 Words for domestic plants and trees

These are often feminine:

en/ei bjørk, a birch; en/ei blomst, a flower; en/ei eik, an oak; en/ei nøtt, a nut; en/ei plante, a plant

Exceptions include:

et bær, a berry, compounds in –bær; et stikkelsbær, a gooseberry; et jordbær, a strawberry; et eple, an apple; et frø, a seed; et tre, a tree

compounds in –frø: et valmuefrø, a poppy seed
compounds in –tre: et grantre, a spruce,

1.2.4.4 Rivers and bodies of water

These often have common gender:

en/ei elv, a river; en fjord, a fiord; en innsjø, a lake; en strøm, a stream; Storsjøen; Tanaelva

Note – Exceptions: Names ending in –vann/–vatn: Røssvatnet

1.2.4.5 Cardinal numbers and fractions ending in –del

en toer, en treer

a two, a three

en tre(dje)del

a third

en fem(te)del

a fifth

1.2.5 Common gender by form

Nouns with the following suffixes are usually common gender:

–ans en instans, an instance; en stimulans, a stimulus; en substans, a substance
–ant en representant, a representative; en restaurant, a restaurant; en variant, a variant
–dom en barndom, a childhood; en sykdom, an illness; en ungdom, a youth
–else en foreteelse, a phenomenon; en skuffelse, a disappointment; en øvelse, an exercise
–ens en intelligens, an intelligence; en konsekvens, a consequence
–er Occupations, nationalities, people; en dommer, a judge; en politiker, a politician; en trener, a coach; (cf. 1.2.4.1, Note 3 above); en tysker, a German; en røyker, a smoker; en sjusover, someone who sleeps a lot (includes many nomina agentis); en samboer, a life partner.
Others: en alder, an age; en hammer, a hammer

Note – Exception: et lager, a storeroom; et nummer, a number In the examples below the bracketed articles indicate that the noun is usually non-count. See 1.1.1.2(b).

–graf en biograf, a biographer; en koreograf, a choreographer
–het (en) arbeidsløshet, unemployment; en hemmelighet, a secret; (en) trygghet, security
–ing en forening, a society; en handling, an action; en regjering, a government
–isme (en) lokalpatriotisme, local patriotism; (en) realisme, realism; (en) turisme, tourism
–ist en journalist, a journalist; en komponist, a composer; en pensjonist, a pensioner (cf. 1.2.4.1, Note 3 above)
–log en biolog, a biologist; en gynekolog, a gynecologist
–sjon en aksjon, an action; en leksjon, a lesson; en situasjon, a situation
–tet en aktivitet, an activity; en realitet, a reality; en stabilitet, a stability

Note – Exceptions: et fakultet, a faculty; et universitet, a university

–(i)ør en direktør, a director; en entreprenør, an entrepreneur;
en leverandør, a supplier; en ingeniør, an engineer

Note – Some feminines with the suffixes: –esse, –inne, –erske, –ske (see also 1.3.4.2): en/ei prinsesse, a princess; en/ei sangerinne, a female singer; en/ei sykepleierske, a nurse

1.2.6 Neuter by meaning

The following types of noun are often neuter.

1.2.6.1 Words for substances

(et) brød, bread; (et) kjøtt, meat; et papir, a piece of paper; (et) regn, rain; (et) sølv, silver; (et) støv, dust

Note – There are a number of exceptions, including:

en jord, earth; (en) luft, air; en vin, wine; en ull, wool

1.2.6.2 Areas and localities

et fylke, a county; et kontinent, a continent; et land, a country; et sogn/sokn, a parish; et torg, a square

Note – Exceptions:

en by, a town; en elv, a river; en gard/gård, a farm; en verden, a world

Names that refer to Norwegian rivers and islands are often feminine or common gender in the agreement of adjective complements (2.1.1):

Glomma er bred.

The River Glomma is wide.

Norwegian towns are often regarded as having common gender in the agreement of adjective complements (2.1.1):

Bergen er gammel.

Bergen is old.

The names of towns used with a preposed adjective attribute tend, however, to be treated as neuter:

det gamle Roma

ancient Rome

det nye Oslo

the new Oslo

et vakkert Tromsø

a beautiful Tromsø

When adjectives or pronouns qualify the names of countries, they have neuter form:

Norge er rikt på olje.

Norway is rich in oil.

Russland er stort.

Russia is big.

1.2.7 Neuter by form

Nouns with the following suffixes are usually neuter:

−em et problem, a problem; et system, a system
−gram et diagram, a diagram; et program, a programme
–iv et alternativ, an alternative; et fjellmassiv, a mountain massif;
et kollektiv, a collective

Note – Exceptions:

Grammatical terms vary: en akkusativ, an accusative; en genitiv, a genitive; but: et adjektiv, an adjective; et substantiv, a noun

−ment et departement, a department; et instrument, an instrument
–(e)ri et bakeri, a bakery; et bedrageri, a fraud; et fyrverkeri, a firework

Note – Exceptions: en geometri, a geometry; en industri, an industry

–um et faktum, a fact; et maksimum, a maximum; et publikum, an audience; et sentrum, a centre
–tek et apotek, a pharmacy; et bibliotek, a library; et diskotek, a discotheque

1.3 Miscellaneous points of gender

1.3.1 Difficult suffixes

It is always a good idea to check nouns of uncertain gender in a reliable dictionary. Here are a few cases where the suffix does not give a reliable clue as to gender:

–al et areal, a surface area; et kvartal, a quarter of a year; et potensial, a potential
BUT: en festival, a festival; en filial, a branch office; en kapital, a capital
–ar People: en antikvar, a second-hand bookseller; en bibliotekar, a librarian; en notar, a notary public (cf. 1.2.4.1 Note 3)
BUT: et ansvar, a responsibility; et forsvar, a defence; et repertoar, a repertoir
–at et apparat, an apparatus; et format, a format; et internat, a hall of residence; et mandat, an authorisation; et sitat, a quotation
BUT: en advokat, a lawyer; en kamerat, a friend (cf 1.2.4.1); en undulat, a budgerigar (cf 1.2.4.2(c)); en automat, a vending machine; en tomat, a tomato
–e en mage, a stomach; en pinne, a stick are masculine; en/ei jente, a girl; en/ei dame, a lady; en/ei kåpe, a coat are feminine
BUT: et jorde, a field; et stykke, a piece, item are neuter
–el et exempel, an example; et fengsel, a prison; et kapittel, a chapter; et middel, a means
BUT: en himmel, a sky; en lengsel, a longing; en mangel, a shortage; en terskel, a threshold; en trussel, a threat
–ent et dokument, a document; et engasjement, a commitment; et moment, a factor; et talent, a talent
BUT: Words for people are common gender (cf. 1.2.4.1); en betjent, a police officer; en dirigent, a conductor; en konsulent, a consultant
–i en kopi, a copy; en ideologi, an ideology; en melodi, a melody; en regi, a production; en økonomi, an economy.
BUT: et byråkrati, a bureaucracy; et havari, a shipwreck; et parti, a political party; politiet, the police
–skap et landskap, a landscape; et mesterskap, a championship; et selskap, a society; et vennskap, a friendship; et forfatterskap, an authorship
BUT: (largely abstracts); en egenskap, a property; en kunnskap, a knowledge; en vitenskap, a science

1.3.2 Gender of abbreviations and nouns of foreign origin

1.3.2.1 Abbreviations

In most cases the gender follows that of the unabbreviated noun:

en bh (cf. brystholder –en)

brassiere

en tv (cf. televisjon –en)

a tv

et wc (cf. vannklosett –et)

a wc

1.3.2.2 Gender of loan words

The gender in many cases conforms to the word’s original gender, as in the following cases.

  1. (a) Many early loans were from Latin and Greek and have the same gender in Norwegian:
    –um et album, an album; et laboratorium, a laboratory; et museum, a museum
    –ment et arrangement, an arrangement; et engasjement, a commitment
    –rie en arterie, an artery; en bakterie, a germ
    –tek et kartotek, a card file
  2. (b) Most modern loans are from English, which has no grammatical gender, and the vast majority of such loans are of common gender:
    –er en computer, a computer
    –ing (en) dumping, dumping
    –or en koordinator, a coordinator
    –sjon en integrasjon, an integration

    These include many nouns ending in –ing, –er:

    Exceptions are nouns ending in –ment (cf. 1.2.7): et understatement

    Monosyllabic loans are also frequently neuter, particularly when the noun has a related verb in Norwegian:

    et krash

    cf. krashe

    et push

    cf. pushe
  3. (c) Where there is formal similarity to a Norwegian noun, the loan may adopt the same gender:

    et college

    et kollegium

    a college

    et cover

    et omslag

    a cover

    et senter

    et sentrum

    a centre

    et card

    et kort

    a card

In some cases, the gender of the closest translation may influence the choice of gender:

en weekend

cf.

en helg

a weekend

et band

cf.

et orkester

a band

et game

cf.

et spill

a game

et team

cf.

et lag

a team

1.3.3 Compound nouns

See also 11.2.

Compound nouns almost always take the gender of their second element, to which the inflectional endings are added:

en skifer

+

et tak

→

skifer|taket

a slate

a roof

the slate roof

et tak

+

en/ei panne

→

tak|pannen/tak|panna

a roof

a tile

the roofing tile

1.3.4 Masculines and feminines

1.3.4.1 Lexical differences

Lexical distinctions are often used to indicate the gender of humans (compare also 1.2.4.2 (a)):

Male Female
gutt, boy jente, girl
enkemann, widower enke, widow
fetter, male cousin kusine, female cousin
konge , king dronning, queen

1.3.4.2 Matrimonial feminines

Honorary titles ending in –inne and –esse were previously given to the wives of office holders or members of the nobility or royalty. They were common until the 20th century, but have now almost died out:

bisp, bishop bispinne, bishop’s wife
prost, dean prostinne, dean’s wife

A few such titles are, however, still used:

hertug, duke hertuginne, duchess
prins, prince prinsesse , princess

Some titles indicating gender have no matrimonial connotation:

diakon, deacon diakonisse, deaconess
helt, hero heltinne , heroine

Note the still frequent: elskerinne, mistress; svigerinne, sister-in-law; venninne, (female) friend; vertinne, hostess. Cf. also 11.1.3.2.

1.3.4.3 Functional feminines and gender-neutral terms

  1. (a) Språkrådet gives some basic guidelines for gender-balanced language, which include:
    1. Using gender-neutral terms as far as possible for functional titles. Use, for example, arbeidsleder, ‘supervisor’ instead of formann, ‘foreman’.
    2. Avoiding the use of kvinnelig, ‘female’ and mannlig, ‘male’ with occupations when there is no reason for them, e.g. avoiding kvinnelig tannlege, ‘female dentist’ or mannlig sykepleier, ‘male nurse’, etc.
  2. (b) In the past half century, there has been a move away from the use of feminine suffixes to indicate the female gender of a professional person. A female teacher, en lærerinne, is often now en lærer like her male counterpart. A female writer, en forfatterinne, is often en forfatter. An actress, en skuepillerinne, is now often described as en skuespiller, though all of the feminine forms above are still in use.
  3. (c) The suffix –mann, which had already to a great extent lost its original sense in job titles, has nevertheless in many cases also been replaced (as has ‘ –man’ in English):

    brannmann, fireman → brannkonstabel, firefighter
    postmann, postman → postbud, postal worker, postie
    stortingsmann, member of parliament → stortingsrepresentant
    talsmann, spokesman → talsperson, spokesperson

    Surviving nouns in – mann include: embetsmann, senior civil servant
    fylkesmann, county governor; lagmann, Appeals Court judge
    tjenestemann, civil servant

    Note that, similarly, en nordmann, ‘a Norwegian’, is not really gender-neutral and is best avoided in contexts such as, for example *nordmannen Emma Hansen. *Hun er nordmann might be replaced by Hun er norsk, ‘She is (a) Norwegian’.

  4. (d) The suffix –folk is useful to replace –menn/ –kvinner: idrettsfolk, ‘sportsmen and women’; politifolk, ‘police officers’; sjøfolk, ‘seafarers’.

1.4 Plural noun forms – the declensions

1.4.1 Indefinite plural of indigenous nouns

1.4.1.1 Basic forms

Norwegian has three indigenous ways of forming the indefinite plurals of nouns (declensions):

These declensions are outlined in 1.4.3–1.4.5, where some irregular plural forms are also detailed. The inflection of loanwords is shown in 1.4.7. For some hints as to how to predict plural forms, see 1.4.2.

1.4.2 Nouns: indefinite plural forms – predictability

The indefinite plural of Norwegian nouns is to some extent predictable. The determining factors are listed below. Note that these provide only general rules and there are some exceptions.

1.4.2.1 Gender

Gender is not a perfectly reliable predictor of the plural form, but some general guidelines can be given. See also 1.4.3ff and 1.4.8. Most common gender nouns take –er or –r, with one easily identifiable group (nouns whose stem ends in –er) ending in the plural in –e. Many neuter nouns, especially the monosyllabic ones, have a zero plural, but there are also substantial groups of bi- or polysyllabic neuter nouns in –er or –r.

1.4.2.2 Complexity

  1. (a) Monosyllabic common gender nouns generally take –er:

    en bygd

    to bygder

    district
  2. (b) Monosyllabic neuter nouns generally take a zero ending:

    et folk

    to folk

    people
  3. (c) Polysyllabic nouns ending in –e generally take –r:

    en brygge

    to brygger

    jetty

    et stykke

    to stykker

    piece
  4. (d) Polysyllabic nouns ending in a consonant (but not compounds) generally take –er:

    en virkning

    to virkninger

    effect

    et ansikt

    to ansikter

    face
  5. (e) Polysyllabic common gender nouns ending in –er generally take –e:

    en trener

    to trenere

    coach

1.4.2.3 Stress

  1. (a) Polysyllabic nouns (often originally loanwords) with end stress (stress is indicated by ' before the stressed syllable) generally take –er:

    en trafi’kant

    to trafi’kanter

    road user

    en servi’tør

    to servi’tører

    waiter
  2. (b) Common gender nouns ending in a stressed vowel take –er:

    en ‘by

    to ‘byer

    town
  3. (c) Polysyllabic common gender nouns take –er:

    en lektor

    to lektorer

    upper secondary

    school teacher
  4. (d) Common gender nouns ending in unstressed –er take –e:

    en dommer

    to dommere

    referee

1.4.2.4 Derivatives with certain endings

Nouns ending in the following suffixes all take –er:

–dom

en eiendom

to eiendommer

property

–het

en dumhet

to dumheter

blunder

–i

en verdi

to verdier

value

–ing

en endring

to endringer

change

–nad

en kostnad

to kostnader

cost

–sjon

en situasjon

to situasjoner

situation

–skap

en egenskap

to egenskaper

property

1.4.3 Nouns with a plural in –(e)r

1.4.3.1 This declension includes the following types of noun

  1. (a) Monosyllabic common gender nouns ending in a consonant.
    In the plural these take –er.

    en bil

    biler

    car

    en dag

    dager

    day

    en gutt

    gutter

    boy
  2. (b) Many polysyllabic common gender nouns ending in a consonant.
    In the plural these take –er.

    en assistent

    assistenter

    assistant

    en billett

    billetter

    ticket

    en datamaskin

    datamaskiner

    computer

    en fotball

    fotballer

    football
  3. (c) Many polysyllabic nouns of either gender ending in a vowel.
    1. (i) In the plural, both common and neuter nouns ending in –e take –r:

      en forbindelse

      to forbindelser

      link

      et bilde

      to bilder

      picture

      Others include:

      en foreteelse, a phenomenon; en hage, a garden; en kirke, a church; en måne, a moon; en tanke, a thought; en uke, a week; et anliggende, a concern; et eple, an apple; et møte, a meeting; et område, an area; et skifte, a shift; et utseende, an appearance; et værelse, a room

    2. (ii) In the plural, common gender nouns ending in a vowel other than –e add –er:

      en mamma

      mammaer

      mum

      en baby

      babyer

      baby

      en pappa, a dad; en valuta, a currrency; en industri, an industry; en melodi, a tune; en bru, a bridge; en hustru, a wife; en ku, a cow; en hobby, a hobby; en paraply, an umbrella

1.4.3.2 Basic rule 1

Most common gender nouns add the plural ending –er to the stem. Neuter nouns in –eum, –ium also take –er, but drop the syllable –um before adding the plural ending:

en stol

to stoler

chair

et museum

to museer

museum

1.4.3.3 Basic rule 2

Nouns of both genders ending in unstressed –e add –r to the stem:

et stykke

to stykker

piece

en time

to timer

hour

1.4.3.4 Exceptions to the basic rules

See also 1.4.3.5f.

  1. (a) Common gender nouns denoting non-humans (cf. 1.4.4) with stems ending in –el usually drop an –e in the stem before adding –er:

    en ankel – ankler, ankle; en bibel – bibler, bible; en regel – regler, rule; en singel – singler, single

    Note 1 – If the first syllable ends in a double consonant, one of the consonants is dropped before adding the plural ending (See 12.2.1.1):

    en artikkel – artikler, article; en sykkel – sykler, bike; en tittel – titler, title

    Note 2 – Neuter nouns whoses stems end in –el have –er as an alternative to a zero plural, and then always drop the stem –e:

    et eksempel – to eksempel/eksempler, example; et møbel – to møbel/møbler, piece of furniture

  2. (b) Common gender nouns ending in –mmer drop the stem –e and an –m in the plural:

    en hammer – to hamrer (hammere/hamre), hammer; en sommer – to somrer (sommere/somre), summer

    Note 1 – Neuter nouns whose stems end in –er have a plural in –e, but then usually drop the stem –e. See 1.4.4.3(a) Note:

    et mønster–to mønster/mønstre, pattern

  3. (c) Many polysyllabic neuter nouns (often loanwords) possess two alternative plural forms, with either an –er plural or a zero plural:

    et prosjekt, to prosjekter/prosjekt, a project; et vindu, to vinduer/vindu, window

    Others:

    et dokument, a document; et hotell, a hotel; et kontor, an office; et problem, a problem; et universitet, a university; et drama, a drama; et firma, a firm; et kamera, a camera; et parti, a party; et intervju, an interview; et nivå, a level

1.4.3.5 Doubling the m

Norwegian words never end in –mm. The –m that follows a short vowel is doubled before the plural ending is added:

en ungdom

ungdommer

young person

Also:

en dam, a dam; en drøm, a dream; en klem, a hug; en sykdom, an illness; et lem, a limb; et medlem, a member

1.4.3.6 Modification of the stem vowel

Some nouns ending in a consonant modify the stem vowel as well as adding –er.

  1. (a) The following vowel changes occur:

    A → E

    and – ender, duck; hovedstad – hovedsteder, capital city; kraft – krefter, power; natt – netter, night; rand – render, stripe; strand – strender, beach; stang – stenger, pole; tang – tenger, pair of tongs; tann – tenner, tooth

    But note also that modification in some cases occurs together with plurals that do not end in –er:

    far – fedre, father; mann – menn, man

    O→Ø

    bok – bøker, book; bot – bøter, fine; not – nøter, seine net; and doubling the final consonant; fot – føtter, foot; rot – røtter, root

    Note also modification occurring together with an –e plural in:

    bror – brødre, brother; mor – mødre, mother

    Å → E

    hånd – hender, hand

  2. (b) Note also modification occurring together with a zero plural in:

    gås – gjess, goose

    Note also the following nouns ending in a vowel with vowel modification that take –r:

    bonde – bønder, farmer; glo – glør, ember; klo – klør, claw; kne – knær (alt. kne), knee; ku – kyr, cow; rå – rær, yard (on a ship); tre – trær (alt. tre), tree; tå – tær, toe

  3. (d) Note also modification occurring with an –e plural in:

    datter – døtre, daughter

1.4.3.7 Recent loanwords with –er plurals

layout – layouter, layout; policy – policyer, policy; weekend – weekender, weekend; franchise – franchiser, franchise

This group includes some loans ending in –is, –us:

kjendis – kjendiser, celebrity; bonus – bonuser, bonus; minus – minuser, minus

But a few loans in –a, –is or –us may drop these final syllables before adding the plural ending –er:

kollega – kolleger (or kollegaer), colleague; amanuensis – amanuenser, amanuensis; radius – radier, radius

See also 1.4.7.2.

1.4.4 Nouns with a plural in –e

1.4.4.1 This declension includes

  1. (a) Most common gender nouns ending in –er denoting people, occupations, relationships, frequently nomina agentis, etc.

    en arbeidsgiver, an employer; en eier, an owner; en lærer, a teacher; en løper, a runner; en medarbeider, a co-worker; en motstander, an opponent; en norgesmester, a Norwegian champion; en partner, a partner; en politiker, a politican; en spiller, a player; en utenriksminister, a foreign minister

  2. (b) This group also includes many nationality words and some loanwords denoting occupations:

    en amerikaner, an American; en italiener, an Italian; en tysker, a German; en manager, en scorer

  3. (c) Some nouns, often describing instruments or agents used for an activity:

    en container, a container; en grøsser, a thriller; en server, a [computer] server; en trailer, an articulated lorry

  4. (d) A few neuter nouns that end in –er. These usually drop the final stem–e:

    et monster – monstre, a monster; et teater – teatre, a theatre

  5. (d) A number of names for fauna, several of which are nomina agentis:

    en gnager, a rodent; en støver, a hound; en gråfluesnapper, a spotted flycatcher; en kjernebiter, a hawfinch; en toppdykker, a great crested grebe

  6. (e) Some nouns in –er taking either –e or −er:

    en seier, to seiere/seire/seirer, victory

    Also: en alder, an age; en tiger, a tiger

1.4.4.2 Basic rule

Most common gender nouns ending in –er add the plural ending –e to the stem:

en begynner

to begynnere

beginner

1.4.4.3 Exceptions to the basic rule

Cf. 1.4.3.4.

  1. (a) Some nouns of either gender with stems ending in –er can drop the –e of the stem before adding the plural ending:

    en finger − to fingre, finger; en skulder − to skuldre, shoulder; en tiger − to tigre, tiger; en vinter − to vintre, winter

    Note – Neuter nouns with stems ending in –er either have a zero plural or a plural in –e, in this latter case dropping the stem –e and reducing any double consonant in the stem:

    et offer – to offer/ofre, victim; et kammer – to kammer/kamre, room;

    et lager – to lager/lagre, storeroom; et senter – senter/sentre, centre

  2. (b) The following words for family relationships modify the root vowel (see 1.4.3.6) and drop the stem –e (if there is one) before adding the plural ending –e:

    en bror – to brødre, brother; en datter – to døtre, daughter; en far – to fedre, father; en mor – to mødre, mother

1.4.5 Nouns with a zero plural

1.4.5.1 This declension includes

  1. (a) Most monosyllabic neuter nouns ending in a consonant:

    et barn, a child; et bær, a berry; et dyr, an animal; et egg, an egg; et fjell, a mountain; et glass, a glass; et hjem, a home; et hus, a house; et land, a country; et liv, a life; et navn, a name; et ord, a word; et rom, a room; et skip, a ship; et språk, a language; et tall, a number; et år, a year

  2. (b) Many polysyllabic neuter nouns ending in a consonant:

    et besøk, a visit; et fjernsyn, a television; et forhold, a relationship; et forslag, a suggestion; et samfunn, a society; et spørsmål, a question; et øyeblikk, a moment

  3. (c) A few common gender nouns, including those that are formed from present participles:

    en feil, a fault; en lus, a louse; en mus, a mouse; en sko, a shoe; en ting, a thing; en pårørende, a next of kin; en reisende, a traveller; en troende, a believer

  4. (d) Some common gender nouns for units of measurement:

    en dollar, a dollar; en/et kilo, a kilo; en liter, a litre; en meter, a metre; en mil, a (Norwegian) mile, 10 km; en øre, an øre

1.4.5.2 Basic rule

Many neuter and a few common gender nouns add no plural ending:

et bad

to bad

bath, swim

et forsøk

to forsøk

attempt

en besøkende

to besøkende

visitor

en sko

to sko

shoe

1.4.5.3 Exceptions to the basic rule

  1. (a) Some monosyllabic neuter nouns possess two alternative plural forms, with either a zero plural or an –er plural:

    et bord

    to bord/border

    table

    et verk

    to verk/verker

    work composition

    Others include:

    et blad, a leaf; et brev, a letter; et fat, a dish; et kurs, a course; et punkt, a point; et skjørt, a shirt; et stoff, a material

    For most of these neuters, the zero plural is much more frequent.

    Note also one common gender noun with this alternative:

    en ski – to ski/skier, a ski

  2. (b) Note the change of stem vowel in the following nouns (1.4.3.6 (b)):

    en gås – gjess, goose; en mann – menn, man

1.4.6 Plurals and compound nouns

For the gender of compound nouns, see 1.3.3. The second element in a noun compound takes the plural ending:

et skole|barn – skole|barn

en barne|skole – barne|skoler

a schoolchild – schoolchildren

a junior school – junior schools

1.4.7 Plurals of loanwords

Some foreign loans have not adapted completely to the Norwegian system of plural endings.

1.4.7.1 English loans

  1. (a) Most foreign loans, especially those borrowed from English previously with a plural in ‘ –s’, now have Norwegian plural forms (see also 11.4.8.3). They vary as to their new plural ending:
  2. (b) The English plural in ‘ –s’ is retained in Norwegian in loan nouns occurring mostly or only in the plural or collective (non-count) forms:

    cornflakes; chips; jeans; koks, coke; nikkers, knickers; odds, pikkels, pickles; pyjamas, shorts, snacks (cf. also 11.4.8.3)

  3. (c) Some loanwords, especially those that still feel alien and have not been integrated into Norwegian, may retain their ‘ –s’ plural:

    callgirl – callgirls; audition – auditions; joystick – joysticks

  4. (d) In a few cases, Norwegian has borrowed an English ‘ –s’ plural as a singular form in so-called ‘kaps-words’:

    en fans/fan (pl. fans), a fan; en kaps (pl. kaps or kapser), a cap; en kjeks (pl. kjeks), a biscuit; en pyjamas (pl. pyjamaser), a pair of pyjamas; shorts (pl. shorts), a pair of shorts

    Note – Neuter nouns of this type usually have a zero plural:

    et tips (or et tipp) –flere tips (or tipp), a tip – several tips

  5. (e) Words retaining the ‘–s’ are often characterised by foreign pronunciation or spelling; in some cases, these are a loan phrase or quotation:

    et keyboard – keyboards; en negro spiritual – negro spirituals; en royalty – royalties

1.4.7.2 Latin loans ending in –a, –um, –ium, –us

  1. (a) Neuter nouns in –a have two alternative plural endings:

    et drama

    drama/dramaer

    drama

    Also:

    dilemma, dilemma; skjema, scheme; tema, theme

    But note the common gender noun en kollega – kollegaer, colleague

  2. (b) Some neuter nouns ending in –um have an obligatory Latin plural in –a added to the stem:

    et faktum

    fakta

    fact

    Others include:

    kvantum, quantum, and, usually in the plural; antibiotika, antibiotics; narkotika, narcotics

  3. (c) Some neuter nouns in –um have alternative Norwegian plurals in –er or –a added to the Latin stem:

    et forum

    fora/forumer

    forum

    Others are:

    maksimum, maximum; serum, ultimatum; visum, visa

  4. (d) Most nouns ending in –ium have alternative plural endings in –ier or –ia:

    et kriterium

    kriterier/kriteria

    criterion

    Also:

    akvarium, aquarium; auditorium, auditorium; kjemikalium, chemical; kollegium, college; laboratorium, laboratory; medium, medium; stadium, stage; studium, study; territorium, territory

    Note 1 – With the exception of the word media, the –ia plural is little used.

    Note 2 – Alternative short singular forms have been created from a number of loans of this type:

    et akvarie (et akvarium), an aquarium; et laboratorie, a laboratory

  5. (f) Common gender nouns ending in –us take –er:

    en bonus

    bonuser

    bonus

    Also:

    status, status; rebus, rebus

  6. (g) Neuter nouns ending in –us take either a zero plural or –er:

    et fokus

    fokus/fokuser

    focus

    manus, manuscript; opus, opus; sirkus, cirkus

    et/en genus

    genus/genera

    gender

1.4.7.3 Nouns ending in –o

  1. (a) Most such nouns are common gender with a plural in –er:

    en video

    videoer

    video

    Also:

    avokado, avocado; cello, cello; dato, date; fiasko, failure; getto, ghetto; konto, account; lasso, lasso; radio, radio; risiko, risk; saldo, credit balance

  2. (b) A few are neuter:

    et foto

    foto/fotoer

    photo

    Cf. also piano, piano; veto, veto; tempo (with a further alternative plural tempi)

1.4.8 Nouns – plural indefinite forms: summary chart

Singular

Plural

Meaning

Para

Nouns with a plural in –er

Common gender

en sak

saker

thing

1.4.3.1

en match

matcher

match

1.4.3.1

en villa

villaer

detached house

1.4.3.1

en gutt

gutter

boy

1.4.3.1

en sannhet

sannheter

truth

1.4.2.4

en løsning

løsninger

solution

1.4.2.4

en eiendom

eiendommer

property

1.4.3.5

en natt

netter

night

1.4.3.6

Neuter

et medium

medier

medium

1.4.7.2

Nouns with a plural in –r

Common gender

en klasse

klasser

class

1.4.3.1

en jente

jenter

girl

1.4.3.1

Neuter

et teppe

tepper

carpet

1.4.3.3

et gjerde

gjerder

fence

1.4.3.3

Nouns with a plural in –e

Common gender

en spiller

spillere

player

1.4.4.1

en container

containere

container

1.4.4.1

en finger

fingre/fingrer

finger

1.4.4.3

en datter

døtre

daughter

1.4.4.3

Neuter

et teater

teatre

theatre

1.4.4.1

Nouns with a zero plural

Common gender

en feil

feil

fault

1.4.5.1

en mann

menn

man

1.4.5.1

Neuter

et dyr

dyr

animal

1.4.5.1

et besøk

besøk

visit

1.4.5.1

et brev

brev/brever

letter

1.4.5.3

et kjøkken

kjøkken/

kjøkkener

kitchen

1.4.5.3

et faktum

fakta

fact

1.4.7.2

For the definite plurals, cf. 1.10.3.

1.5 Nouns with no plural form or no singular form, collective nouns and nouns expressing quantity

1.5.1 Nouns with no plural form

The following types of noun generally speaking have no plural form.

1.5.1.1 Abstract nouns

ansvar, responsibility; fred, peace; frihet, freedom; hat, hatred; håp, hope; kjærlighet, love; kynisme, cynicism; kulde, cold; mot, courage; sannhet, truth; søthet, sweetness; søvn, sleep; vennskap, friendship

Plurals of abstract nouns (if found) denote a countable quality. Compare usage in the following pairs of sentences:

Susanne minnes sin ungdom.

Ungdommene hjalp Susanne.

Susanne recalls her youth.

The youngsters helped Susanne.

Friheten blir satt høyt i Vesten.

Tony tok seg friheter.

Freedom is highly valued in the West.

Tony took liberties.

1.5.1.2 Substances and materials

gress, grass; gull, gold; kjøtt, meat; luft, air; melk, milk; olje, oil; sand, sand; snø, snow; støv, dust; vann, water; øl, beer

  1. (a) Plurals of nouns denoting substances usually indicate a type:

    hvite viner, white wines; vegetabilske oljer, vegetable oils

  2. (b) Some nouns with a zero plural can form a compound or derivative to which an explicit plural ending may more easily be added:
    dåp, baptism – dåp|s|handlinger, baptisms
    gjeld, debt – gjeld|s|poster, debts
    håp, hope – forhåp|ninger, hopes

1.5.1.3 Nouns denoting measurement or currency

See also 1.5.4.

en liter, one litre – femti liter, fifty litres

Like this go:

fot, foot; meter, metre; dollar, dollar; euro, euro

See also the collective noun mann (1.5.3.1).

1.5.2 Nouns with no singular form

Normally, nouns have both a singular and a plural form. There are nouns that have no singular – that occur only in the plural – but these are much less numerous than nouns that have no plural – that occur in the singular only.

1.5.2.1

The following nouns are usually only found in the plural:

aner, ancestry; briller, spectacles; finanser, finances; godterier, goodies; grønnsaker, vegetables; hengsler, braces; innvoller, bowels; klær, clothes; kontanter, cash; matvarer, foodstuffs; opptøyer, riots; penger, money

Some of these nouns are occasionally used in the singular form:

internasjonal finans, international finance; verdens sunneste grønnsak, the world’s healthiest vegetable; en billig penge, an affordable price

This group includes some words for articles of clothing in two pieces:

jeans, shorts

1.5.2.2 Collectives denoting people

These nouns, though most often used in the plural, can also have singular forms:

foreldre, parents; småbarn, infants; søsken, siblings

1.5.2.3 Some illnesses

meslinger, measles; røde hunder, German measles; vannkopper, chickenpox

1.5.2.4 Some place names

Alpene, the Alps; Færøyene, the Faeroes; Maldivene, the Maldives; Pyreneene, the Pyrenees

1.5.3 Collective use

1.5.3.1 Mann

The noun mann usually has the plural form menn, but when an organised unit or band of men is involved, the plural form used is mann:

To menn fikk alvorlige brannskader.
Two men received serious burns.

cf. en besetning på 23 mann a crew of 23 men

1.5.3.2 Groups of animals

In describing groups of animals or fish, the singular of the species name is sometimes used:

tre spurver

three sparrows

cf. en flokk spurv(er)

a flock of sparrows

tre sild og to laks

three herring and two salmon

1.5.4 Nouns expressing quantity

In expressions such as those given below, the noun indicating the measure of quantity usually has a zero plural. Notice that, in cases where English uses ‘of’, Norwegian has no direct equivalent. See also 7.7.3.7.

en fot

one foot

Den er 5 fot lang.

It is five foot long.

en liter

one litre

Vi har to liter melk.

We have two litres of milk.

en meter

a metre

Tunnelen er 600 meter lang.

The tunnel is 600 metres long.

en kilo

a kilo

Peter veier 100 kilo.

Peter weighs a hundred kilos.

en kilometer

a kilometre

De kjørte 1750 kilometer.

They drove 1,750 kilometres.

en mil

a (Norwegian) mile [=10 km]

åtte mil øst for Røros

eight miles [80 km] east of Røros

Note – The noun krone is, however, used in the plural form:

en krone

one crown [unit of currency]

ti kroner

ten crowns

1.6 Differences in number between English and Norwegian

1.6.1 Nouns which are usually singular in English but plural in Norwegian

A number of singular nouns in English correspond to plural nouns in Norwegian:

forretninger, business; inntekter, income; kontanter, cash; møbler, furniture; nyheter, news; opplysninger, information; penger, money; utgifter, expenditure

1.6.2 Nouns which are usually singular in Norwegian but plural in English

1.6.2.1

A number of singular nouns in Norwegian correspond to plural nouns in English:

aske, ashes; havre, oats; innhold, contents; lønn, wages; middelalderen, the Middle Ages; moral, morals; protokoll, minutes; rikdom, riches; sprit, spirits; takk, thanks; tollvesen, the Customs; utseende, looks

1.6.2.2

This group includes words for tools and instruments where English has ‘a pair of’:

en pinsett, (a pair of) tweezers; en saks, (a pair of) scissors; en tang, (a pair of) pliers; en vektskål, (a pair of) scales

1.6.2.3

In reciprocating constructions, the Norwegian singular corresponds to the English plural:

De byttet plass.

They changed places.

Mennene tok hverandre i hånden

The men shook hands.

1.7 Noun homonyms

1.7.1 List of Norwegian noun homonyms

Some Norwegian nouns with the same spelling have two very different meanings shown either in different genders or different plural forms or both. They are usually regarded as being different words. Below is a brief list of some frequent homonyms.

en ark–er

1 dormer window

2 ark

et klapp–

pat

et ark −

sheet of paper

en legg–er

folio

et legg–

calf (of leg)

en bank–er

1 bank 2 knocking sound

en lem–mer

shutter

et bank–

knocking sound

et lem–

limb

et lokk –

lid

en bar–er

1 bar 2 sandbank

en lokk –er

lock of hair; song

et bar –er

conifer sprig

en plan –er

plan

et plan –

plane

en bruk–

1 use 2 custom

en rev–er

fox

et bruk–

1 farm 2 factory

et rev–

reef

en dam –mer

1 pool 2 dam 3 puddle

en rom–

rum

en dam –

draughts, checkers

et rom–

room

et egg–

egg

en rot–røtter

root

en egg–er

1 cutting edge

2 ridge

et rot–

mess

en fyr–er

1 light 2 chap

en slått–

haymaking

et fyr–

beacon

en slått–er

folk tune

en kar–er

fellow

en tall–er

pine tree

et kar–

container

et tall–

number

en klapp–er

valve

1.8 The genitive

Modern written Norwegian has an unmarked form of the noun and one adding an –s indicating possession. See also 1.8.1.7 for the sin genitive, and for the periphrastic genitive using a preposition, predominantly in spoken language, see 1.8.1.6, 7.7.3. For remnants of the dative case, see 1.8.1.4(c).

1.8.1 The form of the genitive

1.8.1.1 Basic rule

To form the genitive, –s is added to the form of the indefinite or definite singular or plural.

Indefinite singular

Definite singular

en students fag

studentens fag

a student’s subject(s)

the student’s subject(s)

et folks helse

folkets helse

a people’s health

the people’s health

Indefinite plural

Definite plural

studenters fag

studentenes fag

students’ subjects

the students’ subject(s)

folks helse,

folkenes helse,

peoples’ health

the peoples’ health

See also the group genitive (1.8.1.3), renderings of ‘of’ (see 7.7) and the prepositional genitive, 1.8.1.6.

  1. (a) After a noun in the genitive form, the noun following never takes an end article:

    the school’s headteacher

    skolens rektor

    the girls’ parents

    pikenes foreldre

    the roof of the car

    bilens tak

    This often involves a conscious change when translating from English, as it involves dropping an article on the ‘possessed’ noun:

    The will of the people →

    folkets vilje

    Definite article Definite article

    Definite article No article

    lit. the people’s will

    Note – A rare exception is when the noun is a title or proper noun:

  2. (b) The –s genitive may occur with adjectival nouns:

    de unges røykevaner

    young people’s smoking habits

    det godes seier

    the victory of good

    den døendes ansikt

    the face of the dying person
  3. (c) Proper nouns (especially names of people) also take the –s ending:

    Griegs komposisjoner

    Grieg’s compositions

    Ibsens geni

    The genius of Ibsen

    Ivar Aasens innsats

    Ivar Aasen’s achievement
  4. (d) Acronyms (see 11.4.5) that are proper nouns also take an –s ending:

    EUs direktiv

    the EU directive

    USAs president

    the president of the USA

    NRKs seertall

    Norwegian Broadcasting’s viewing figures

1.8.1.2 After proper names ending in –s, –x, –z an apostrophe is added instead of –s

Claes’ venner

Claes’s friends

Sveits’ banker

Switzerland’s banks

Harrods’ fasade

the façade of Harrods

Marx’ utsagn

Marx’s statement

Berlioz’ symfonier

Berlioz’s symphonies

1.8.1.3 The group genitive

When a name consists of a group of words, the genitive –s is placed on the last word. This is the ‘group genitive’:

Asbjørnsen and Moe wrote their stories together, while Garborg and Lie were two distinct novelists.

This also occurs with noun phrases comprising common nouns:

mannen i gatas innstilling

the view of the man in the street

for hustru og barns skyld

for the sake of wife and children

en av mine venners hjem

one of my friends’ homes

It is not the street that holds the view, but the man in the street. The home does not belong to the friends collectively, but to one of them.

1.8.1.4 Remnants of old case endings in set expressions

  1. (a) Expressions with a genitive in –s after til include:

    gå til alters, get married; til bords, at table; til bunns (i noe), to the bottom (of something); til fjells, into the mountains; til fots, on foot; spørre noen til råds, ask someone’s advice; til sengs, abed; (høyt) til værs, (high up) in the sky

  2. (b) Expressions with an old genitive in –e after til:

    komme til orde, get a word in; gå til spille, go to waste; komme til syne, appear

  3. (c) Notice also the following relict datives in –e after different prepositions:

    gå fra borde, go ashore; i drømme, in one’s dreams; være i live, be alive

1.8.1.5 Latin genitives are used in a very few names

Kristi himmelfart

cf. Kristus

the Ascension

Jesu oppstandelse

cf. Jesus

Jesus’s Resurrection

1.8.1.6 Periphrastic genitives

See also 7.7.3.

  1. (a) Particularly in spoken Norwegian, there are many prepositional expressions that may serve as an alternative to the –s genitive, among others av, i, på, til:

    utsiden av huset

    the outside of the house

    Universitetet i Oslo

    the University of Oslo

    taket på bilen

    the car roof

    kompisen til Erik

    Erik’s friend
  2. (b) In the case of the objective genitive (1.8.2.1(f)), the –s genitive may feel too formal, and av is normally used instead:

    vaksinering av barn

    vaccination of children
  3. (c) Another alternative to the genitive in –s is the compound noun:

    huseieren

    the owner of the house/

    cf. husets eier

    house owner

    saksbehandling

    legal procedure

    cf. sakens behandling

1.8.1.7 The sin genitive

This originally dialectal western and northern feature, in which the possessive determiner sin (sitt, sine) is postposed after the noun as an alternative to the –s genitive, has over the last half century spread to the spoken language of Eastern Norway. Although it is used in Nynorsk, it is still considered by some Bokmål writers to be childish or awkward, but it is gaining ground among young people and has become common in written Bokmål. Note that the determiner has to agree with the noun following.

Olav si(n) bok

Olav’s book

cf. Olavs bok

mannen sin hatt

the man’s hat

cf. mannens hatt

NRK sitt arkiv

NRK’s archive

There is a tendency to use the sin genitive after an /s/ sound:

SAS sine ruter

SAS’s routes

Anders sin leilighet

Anders’s flat.

The sin genitive is also found in group genitives (cf. 1.8.1.3):

Vesaas og Duun sine romaner Vesaas’s and Duun’s novels

1.8.2 The use of the genitive

1.8.2.1 Categories of the genitive

See also periphrastic forms in 1.8.1.6.

In terms of the relationship between the nouns in the genitive phrase, the following distinctions are sometimes made.

  1. (a) Possessive genitive
    This is the most easily distinguished category. The referent of the first noun ‘owns’ or ‘possesses’ the second:

    fars briller

    father’s glasses

    naboens hund

    the neighbour’s dog

    Annas bror

    Anna’s brother

    Frequent prepositional alternatives include av, på, til:

    boka til/av Knut Faldbakken

    Knut Faldbakken’s book

    slutten av/på boka

    the end of the book
  2. (b) Genitive of origin
    Similar to the possessive.

    Sigrid Undsets berømte formulering
    Sigrid Undset’s famous phrase

  3. (c) Partitive genitive (only a part is inferred)

    fjellets topp (cf. fjelltoppen)

    the top of the mountain

    barnets øyne

    the baby’s eyes
  4. (d) Descriptive genitive
    The –s genitive is a modifier where the first noun (phrase) describes or classifies the second noun.

    en seksårs gutt

    a six-year-old boy

    en fem binds historie

    a five-volume history

    et drama i tre akter

    a three-act play

    Note that in many cases where English has a descriptive genitive, Norwegian has a compound noun: ‘girl’s school’ = jenteskole; ‘farmer’s wife’ = bondekone.

  5. (e) Subjective genitive
    In an equivalent sentence, the first noun is subject:

    Darwins reise

    Darwin’s journey.

    (cf. Darwin reiste.

    Darwin travelled.)

    menneskers forbruk

    people’s consumption

    (cf. Mennesker forbruker.

    People consume.)

    Compare also the use of av:

    en tale av helseministeren

    a speech by the Health Minister

    (cf. Helseministeren taler.

    The Health Minister speaks.)
  6. (f) Objective genitive.

    In an equivalent sentence, the first noun is object:

    Australias oppdagelse

    the discovery of Australia

    (cf. Man oppdaget Australia.

    They discovered Australia.)

    firmaets grunnlegger

    the founder of the company

    (cf. Han grunnla firmaet.

    He founded the company.)

    This usage is rather literary. Compare the use of av:

    oppdagelsen av Australia

    the discovery of Australia

    grunnleggelsen av et firma

    the founding of a company
  7. (g) Measurement genitive

    en times busstur

    one-hour bus trip

    See 1.8.2.2(b).

1.8.2.2 The –s genitive

  1. (a) The –s genitive corresponds to both the English genitive in ’s or s’ and the ‘of’ genitive:

    guttens far

    the boy’s father

    guttenes far

    the boys’ father

    Norges høyeste fjelltopper

    Norway’s highest peaks

    gårdens eier

    the owner of the farm

    En handelsreisendes død

    Death of a Salesman (drama)
  2. (b) The genitive of measurement

    en åttetimers arbeidsdag

    an eight-hour working day

    en tre roms leilighet

    a three-room apartment

    en 700 kroners drosjetur

    a 700-kroner taxi ride
  3. (c) Notice also the use of the –s genitive in Norwegian to indicate a quality:

    et herrens vær

    terrible weather

    den helvetes bilen hans

    that bloody awful car of his

    Note that (b) and (c) are much more restricted than (a).

1.9 The form of the indefinite article

1.9.1 The indefinite article

The indefinite article is en for common gender nouns and et for neuter nouns:

en blomst, a flower; et land, a country; en skole, a school; et eple, an apple

For feminine nouns with the indefinite article ei see 1.2.3 and 1.1.2.2.

1.10 The form of the definite article

1.10.1 Introduction

The definite or end article singular has the forms –en, –n, (in the masculine), –a (feminine, 1.10.2.3) and –et, –t (neuter). The definite plural has the forms –ene or –ne or occasionally, with neuter nouns, –a (1.10.2.3). These are not strictly ‘articles’ in the same way as the front article (determiner); they are suffixes (endings) added to the noun.

When the definite noun is preceded by an adjective, definiteness is expressed by both a front or adjectival article or determiner (den, det or de) and an end article (–en, –n, –et, –t or –a) as well as a definite ending –e on most adjectives. See 2.3.

1.10.2 The form of the definite singular with end article

1.10.2.1 Basic rule

Most Norwegian nouns add the end article –en or –et:

en hånd, a hand hånden, the hand
en melodi, a tune melodien, the tune
et barn, a child barnet, the child
et galleri, a gallery galleriet, the gallery

Neuter nouns in –um follow the main rule.

albumet, the album; vakuumet, the vacuum; volumet, the volume

Note – Neuter nouns in –eum –ium generally drop the –um of the stem before adding any endings:

museet, the museum; podiet, the podium; studiet, the study

1.10.2.2 Exceptions

Nouns of either gender ending in unstressed –e add –n or –t according to gender:

en kirke,

a church

kirken,

the church

et møte,

a meeting

møtet,

the meeting
  1. (a) Common gender nouns in –e take –n in the definite form:

    en bonde – bonden, farmer; finne – finnen, Finn; hage – hagen, garden; en måte – måten, way; en serie – serien, series and many in –else; en avgjørelse – avgjørelsen, decision; en mottakelse – mottakelsen, reception

  2. (b) Neuter nouns in –e take –t in the definite form:

    et løfte – løftet, promise; et menneske – mennesket, person; et område – området, area; et stykke – stykket, piece; et tilfelle – tilfellet, occurrence, case; et værelse – værelset, room

    Note – If the feminine is used, the unstressed –e– from the indefinite singular is dropped before the ending –a is added: ei jente – jenta, girl.

1.10.2.3 The –a form

For feminines, see 1.2.1ff, 1.1.2.1 and 1.2.3.

  1. (a) The feminine definite ending in –a in written Bokmål is the preferred form in only a restricted number of cases such as the following (in which it is also perfectly possible to use –en):

    geita, the goat; hytta, the cabin; jenta, the girl; kua, the cow; øya, the island

    Note – In the language reform of 1917 –a forms were either obligatory or optional for “names of indigenous fauna and flora, indigenous natural phenomena, rural life and superstition”. In the reform of 1938, approximately 1,000 nouns had obligatory –a endings. The ending proved contentious in the debate in the immediate post-war period on bringing Nynorsk and Bokmål closer together. After the 2005 reform, the ending –a is never obligatory. See also 1.1.2.2.

  2. (b) Some neuter nouns often have a plural definite form in –a:

    et barn – barna, child; et bein – beina, leg

1.10.2.4 Contraction

In some cases, nouns drop the stem vowel in inflected forms.

  1. (a) Neuter nouns that in their uninflected form end in –el usually drop the stem vowel –e before adding the definite article, though they also possess an uncontracted alternative:

    et fengsel – fengslet/fengselet, prison

    Other examples:

    et eksempel – eksemplet, example; et kapittel – kapitlet, chapter; et middel – midlet, means; et stempel – stemplet, stamp

    Note – Neuter nouns ending in –en, –er have an uncontracted form in the definite:

    kjøkkenet, the kitchen; våpenet, the weapon; nummeret, the number; senteret, the centre

  2. (b) Neuter nouns ending in –eum, –ium often drop the –um of the stem before adding any inflexional endings:

    et museum – museet, museum; et auditorium – auditoriet, auditorium; et mysterium – mysteriet, mystery; et stadium – stadiet, stage

    Note – Words denoting the chemical elements have uncontracted forms:

    kalium – kaliumet, potassium; kalsium – kalsiumet, calcium

    See also 1.4.7.2.

1.10.3 Choice of the definite plural ending

For indefinite plural forms, see 1.1.3, 1.4.1.

1.10.3.1 Basic rule 1

Nouns with indefinite plurals in –er drop the –r of the indefinite plural ending before adding the definite plural ending –ne:

en blomst

blomsten

blomster

blomstene

flower

en skole

skolen

skoler

skolene

school

et ansikt

ansiktet

ansikter

ansiktene

face

et eple

eplet

epler

eplene

apple

Note 1 − Neuter nouns ending in –eum, –ium drop the –um of the stem before adding any inflexional endings:

et jubileum

jubileet

jubileer

jubileene

jubilee

et medium

mediet

medier

mediene

medium

Note 2 – All common nouns that in the indefinite singular end in –el and most that end in –er show contraction of the final stem vowel in their plural forms:

en regel

regelen

regler

reglene

rule

en finger

fingeren

fingre/fingrer

fingeren

finger

Neuter nouns that end in –el, –er can also show contraction, though they have an alternative zero indefinite plural:

et fengsel

fengslet

fengsler/

fengsel

fengslene

prison

et kapittel

kapitlet

kapitler/

kapittel

kapitlene

chapter

et orkester

orkestret

orkestre/

orkester

orkestrene

orchestra

Note 3 – Nouns whose indefinite singular end in –en have an uncontracted form in the definite plural:

aftenene

the evenings

lakenene

the sheets

tallerkenene

the plates

Note 4 – In the case of bror, mor and far, the stem vowel is modified and there is also contraction (and addition of –d):

en bror

broren

brødre

brødrene

brother

en mor

moren

mødre

mødrene

mother

en far

faren

fedre

fedrene

father

Note 5 – Modification of the stem vowel and contraction is also found in:

en datter – datteren – døtre – døtrene, daughter

Note 6 – Neuter nouns may alternatively take –a (cf. 1.10.2.3(b)), which may involve dropping both the –e and the –r of the indefinite plural ending:

barna (cf. barnene), the children; eksempla (cf. eksemplene), the examples; epla (cf. eplene), the apples

1.10.3.2 Basic rule 2

Plurals of common gender nouns ending in their uninflected form (indefinite singular) in –er retain the stem –r in the definite plural:

en bruker

brukeren

brukere

brukerne

user

en leder

lederen

ledere

lederne

leader

en spiller

spilleren

spillere

spillerne

player

Note – A small number of nouns ending in a root vowel which change their stem vowel in the plural retain the –r of the indefinite plural ending in their definite plural form:

en klo

kloen (kloa)

klør

klørne

claw

en ku

kuen (kua)

kyr (kuer)

kyrne (kuene)

cow

en tå

tåen (tåa)

tær

tærne

toe

et kne

kneet

knær (kne)

knærne

knee

et tre

treet

trær (tre)

trærne

tree

1.10.4 Nouns – forms with end article: summary

Paragraph

Common gender

Neuter

SINGULAR

1.10.2.1

avisen

salget

the newspaper

the sale

1.10.2.1

sagaen

temaet

the tale

the theme

1.10.2.1

ideen

treet

the idea

the tree

1.10.2.1

–

albumet

the album

1.10.2.1n

museet (from museum)

stadiet (from stadium)

the museum

the stage

1.10.2.2

skiven (from skive)

løftet (from løfte)

the slice

the promise

1.10.2.3

hytta (from hytte)

−

the cabin

1.10.2.4

−

eksemplet (from eksempel)

the example

Plural

1.10.3.1

klubbene

lagene

the clubs

the teams

1.10.3.1

reglene (from regel)

midlene (from middel)

the rules

the funds

1.10.3.2

ministrene (from minister)

teatrene (from teater)

the ministers

the theatres

museene (from museum)

the museums

1.10.3.1

brødrene (from bror)

 –

the brother

1.10.3.2

deltakerne (from deltaker)

 –

the participants

1.10.3.2

kyrne (from ku)

 –

the cows

1.10.3.1

 –

eplene (from eple)

the apples

1.11 The use of the indefinite and definite article and the noun without article

1.11.1 Introduction

The same principle usually applies in Norwegian as in English, namely that unfamiliar concepts take an indefinite article while concepts that are already familiar from the context take a definite article.

With assumed common knowledge (1.11.1.2):

Eva har tatt bilen til arbeidet. Eva has taken the car to work.

Article use in Norwegian may be regarded as a series of choices between the three forms of the noun outlined in 1.11.1.1 to 1.11.1.3.

1.11.1.1 Noun without article

The noun without article has restricted fields of use. These include words for substances (De byr på kaffe, ‘They offer us a coffee’), abstracts (Han har skaffet seg arbeid, ‘He has found work’), nouns in proverbs and fixed expressions (Liten tue kan velte stort lass, ‘A small tussock can topple a big load’, i.e. small details can destroy large projects) and nouns in rubrics in newspapers (Fem skadd i trafikkulykke, ‘Five hurt in traffic accident’). It is also general when the noun is a complement (Hun er musiker, ‘She is a musician’) (see 1.11.5.1). In legal and bureaucratic language, the noun without article has generic reference, as it also does in the following cases shown here for comparison with the form with indefinite article:

Generic reference

Specific reference

Kjører du bil?

Vinn en bil!

Do you drive (a car)?

Win a car!

De sitter og spiser kylling.

Hvordan dele en kylling?

They sit eating chicken.

How to joint a chicken?

Nils er ute på reise.

Han planlegger en reise.

Nils is away on a trip.

He is a planning a trip.

De jaktet elg.

Vi så en elg i skogen.

They hunted elk.

We saw an elk in the forest.

Det er en øde høyslette av stein.

Han plukket opp en stein.

It is a desolate plateau of rock.

He picked up a rock.

With a noun indicating a substance such as stein, vin the use of the indefinite article stresses type:

Type or sort

et hus av stein

Gneis er en hard stein.

a house (built) of stone

Gneiss is a resistant rock.

Hun drakk vin.

Hun tok en fransk vin.

She drank wine.

She took a French wine.

In contrast with the articleless noun, the noun with indefinite article may have a figurative or subjective sense (cf. 1.11.5.1):

Literal

Figurative

Han er klovn.

Sjefen er en klovn.

He is (employed as) a clown.

The boss is a clown. [i.e. a fool].

1.11.1.2 Noun in the definite

The listener/reader is usually aware of what is being referred to. For example, kongen ‘the king’ to a Norwegian might logically refer to King Harald V of Norway. When there is assumed common knowledge of the context, Norwegian often has a definite form, even when English does not:

Skolen begynner i august.

School starts in August.

Han havnet i retten.

He ended up in court.

1.11.1.3

A whole species or family may be denoted by either the definite singular or indefinite plural:

1.11.2 Definite article in Norwegian – no article in English

1.11.2.1 Abstract nouns in a generic sense

Many abstract nouns in a generic sense are usually found in the definite in Norwegian, including:

  1. (a) Nouns denoting aspects of human life and thought such as:

    Døden snakker vi helst ikke om.

    We don’t mention death.

    Livet er ikke en dans på roser.

    Lit. Life is not a dance on roses.

    Life is not a walk in the park.

    Others include:

    arbeidet, work; barndommen, childhood; menneskeheten, humankind; naturen, nature; skjebnen, fate; vitenskapen, science

  2. (b) Nouns denoting human qualities and emotions:

    Others include:

    helsen, health; kjærligheten, love; lykken, happiness; skjønnheten, beauty

1.11.2.2 Proverbs

Proverbs include many special cases of 1.11.2.1.

Historien gjentar seg.

History repeats itself.

Kunsten er lang, livet kort.

Art is long, life is short.

Slik er livet.

Such is life.

Mennesket spår, Gud rår.

Man proposes, God disposes.

Arbeidet adler mannen.

Works ennobles Man.

Gråten letter sorgen.

Tears ease grief.

1.11.2.3 Idiomatic prepositional phrases

In some idiomatic prepositional phrases indicating location the noun is found in the definite form in Norwegian:

Vi er i/drar til byen.

We are in/are going to town.

De går i kirken.

They go to church.

Guttene er på skolen.

The boys are at school.

1.11.2.4 Days of the week, etc

Days of the week, seasons and festivals are more often used in the definite in Norwegian than in English.

om natten/fredagen/vinteren

at night/on Friday/in winter

i julen/pinsen/skumringen

at Christmas/Whitsun/dusk

Note – Exceptions: Festivals ending in –aften:

1.11.2.5 Other phrases

på byen, in (the) town; i utlandet, abroad; gjennom tollen, through Customs; i posten, by post

1.11.2.6 Public places, etc

Names of some public places and geographical locations:

Note – When used as the first element in a compound, names drop the end article:

Atlanteren

the Atlantic

cf. Atlanterhavet

the Atlantic Ocean

Nordsjøen

the North Sea

cf. nordsjøolje

North Sea oil

1.11.2.7 With nouns after hele, halve

hele uken

all week

(cf. en hel uke

a whole week)

halve natten

half the night

1.11.3 Definite article in Norwegian – indefinite article in English

This is found in expressions indicating frequency of occurrence.

to ganger i uken

twice a week/a month

300 kroner i timen

300 kroner an hour

1 000 kroner i året

1,000 kr per annum

1.11.4 No article in Norwegian – definite article in English

1.11.4.1 With certain adjectives

This is found with certain adjectives (that in some way restrict the reference) in the definite form. The form without a front article is more common in the spoken language (see 2.3.5ff):

But constructions with the front article and end article are also possible and frequent in the written language:

den forrige statsministeren

the previous Prime Minister

den neste utgaven

the next edition

det neste århundret

the next century

1.11.4.2 Instruments

In some phrases involving instruments and hobbies:

Mia spiller piano.

Mia plays the piano.

Far hører på radio.

Dad is listening to the radio.

Sara prater i telefon.

Sara is speaking on the phone.

1.11.4.3 Latin and Greek loans

  1. (a) With many linguistic terms, medical terms and other words from Latin:

    i infinitiv/presens/futurum/preteritum

    in the infinitive/present tense/future/ past tense

    i singularis/pluralis

    in the singular/plural

    i utrum/nøytrum

    in the common/neuter gender

    This also applies to their Norwegian equivalents:

    i entall/flertall

    in the singular/plural

    i felleskjønn/intetkjønn

    in the common/neuter gender
  2. (b) In titles, mainly but not only from Latin or Greek:

    Ved Universitetet i Oslo har rektor/dekanus besluttet å utvide.
    At the University of Oslo, the Vice Chancellor/the Dean has decided on expansion.

1.11.4.4 Directions

In phrases involving compass points and directions:

i nord/syd

in the north/south

til venstre/på venstre side

to the left/on the left-hand side

1.11.4.5 Superlatives

With superlatives, usually in the definite form in English:

av beste kvalitet

of the best quality

i høyeste grad

to the highest degree

av billigste sort

of the cheapest kind

1.11.4.6 Rivers

In the majority of river names:

Donau, the Danube; Kongo, the Congo; Mississippi, the Mississippi; Volga, the Volga

Note – Exceptions include some well-known Norwegian and other rivers:

Drammenselva; Elben, the Elbe; Nilen, the Nile; Rhinen, the Rhine; Themsen, the Thames

1.11.4.7 Some set phrases

i håp om at

in the hope that

med unntak av

with the exception of

under innflytelse av noen

under the influence of someone

Han er forfatter av boken.

He is the author of the book.

Bjørn var sønn av Harald Hårfagre.

Bjørn was the son of Harald Fairhair.

1.11.5 No article in Norwegian (‘naked noun’) – indefinite article in

English

See also 1.11.1.1.

1.11.5.1 Nationality, profession, etc

With nouns denoting nationality, profession, trade, political or religious belief:

Wolfgang er tysker.

Wolfgang is a German.

Ingrid er lærer.

Ingrid is a teacher.

Sofia er sosialist.

Sofia is a socialist.

Kari er muslim.

Kari is a Muslim.

Exceptions:

The article is, however, used:

  1. (a) When the noun is of a more subjective kind:

    Mor var et geni/en engel/en kverulant.
    Mum was a genius/an angel/a cantankerous person.

  2. (b) When the noun is qualified by an adjective:

    Hun er en god lærer.

    She is a good teacher.
  3. (c) When the noun is qualified by a restrictive relative clause:

    Hun var en lærer som kunne sine ting.

She was a teacher who knew her stuff.

1.11.5.2 After som

When the noun follows som (= ‘in the capacity of’):

Note – When the noun follows som means ‘like a’, an indefinite article is used, as in English:

“Da jeg var barn, talte jeg som et barn …”
“When I was a child I spoke as a child …” (I Corinthians 13)

1.11.5.3 Generality

See also 1.11.1.1.

With singular count nouns when a general idea is inferred rather than a specific example. The noun is unmodified:

Anna venter barn.

Anna is expecting a baby.

Håkon skriver brev.

Håkon is writing a letter (or several letters).

Familien har hund.

The family has a dog.

1.11.5.4

After the verb ha (and få) and with an adjective attribute the naked noun is often found in phrases describing the characteristic external or internal qualities of people and objects. Here there is a great deal of variation in use, however.

Katten har kort pels.

The cat has a short coat.

Han var kledd i hvit skjorte.

He was wearing a white shirt.

Olav kjøper ikke ny dress.

Olav is not buying a new suit.

1.11.5.5 Idiomatic phrases

The naked noun is also used in other idiomatic phrases when English has an indefinite article:

med stort flertall, with a large majority; ha hastverk, be in a hurry; i godt humør, in a good mood; ha feber, have a high temperature; ha rett til å, have a right to; på avstand, at a distance; i nødsfall, in an emergency

1.11.6 Indefinite article in Norwegian – no article in English

The following expressions using en (or its neuter equivalent et) denote ‘about, approximately’:

De forsøkte en fire, fem ganger.

They tried four or five times.

Firmaet har et femtitall biler.

The firm has about 50 cars.

1.11.7 Use of the definite article to indicate possession

1.11.7.1 Parts of the body and articles of clothing

The end article is often used in Norwegian with parts of the body and articles of clothing when it is clear who these belong to. In these cases, English uses a possessive (cf. also 4.4.4):

Han river seg i håret.

He is tearing his hair out.

Vi fryser på føttene.

Our feet are cold.

De tok ikke av seg skoene.

They didn’t take off their shoes.

Keeper fikk hendene på ballen.

The goalkeeper got his hands on the ball.

Note – Exception: Where precise ownership needs to be indicated or in order to avoid ambiguity, the possessive adjective is used, as in English:

Jenta la sin hånd i min.

The girl put her hand in mine.

1.11.7.2 Aches and pains

Notice the following construction locating various aches and pains, which requires a different rendering in English:

1.11.8 Differences in the position of the article in Norwegian and English

en halv time

half an hour

en slik fremgangsmåte

such a procedure

en ganske lang vei

rather a long way