Livbåten er ute.

to be

Breakdown of Livbåten er ute.

• ute: outside
• livbåten: the lifeboat

Questions & Answers about Livbåten er ute.

Why does livbåten end with -en?

Because Norwegian usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun.

• en livbåt = a lifeboat
• livbåten = the lifeboat

Here, -en is the definite ending for a singular common-gender noun.

Why isn’t there a separate word for the?

In Norwegian, the is often built into the noun instead of standing alone in front of it.

So English the lifeboat becomes livbåten, not a separate word plus noun.

A useful extra point: if there is an adjective, Norwegian often uses double definiteness:

• den store livbåten = the big lifeboat

So you get both a separate definite word den and the noun ending -en.

What is the base form of livbåten?

The base form is livbåt.

It breaks down like this:

• liv = life
• båt = boat
• livbåt = lifeboat

Then the definite ending -en is added:

• livbåt → livbåten

Why is the verb er used here?