Byggesøknaden må signeres.

must

Breakdown of Byggesøknaden må signeres.

• signere: to sign
• byggesøknaden: the building application

Questions & Answers about Byggesøknaden må signeres.

What does byggesøknaden break down into?

Byggesøknaden is a compound noun:

• bygge = build / building
• søknad = application
• -en = the definite singular ending for many masculine nouns

So:

• byggesøknad = building application / construction application
• byggesøknaden = the building application

A very common feature of Norwegian is that nouns are often joined into one word like this.

Why is byggesøknad written as one word?

Because Norwegian normally writes compound nouns as one single word.

So English often has:

• building application
• house door
• school bus

But Norwegian usually makes these into compounds:

• byggesøknad
• husdør
• skolebuss

This is very normal and something English speakers need to get used to.

Why is there no separate word for the?

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of standing as a separate word.

So:

• en byggesøknad = a building application
• byggesøknaden = the building application

The ending -en already contains the idea of the, so you do not add a separate article before it.