Ørkenen er tørr.

The desert is dry.

Breakdown of Ørkenen er tørr.

• være: to be
• tørr: dry
• ørkenen: the desert

Questions & Answers about Ørkenen er tørr.

Why is the attached to ørken instead of being a separate word?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun.

• en ørken = a desert
• ørkenen = the desert

So the ending -en is doing the job that the does in English.

What does er mean here?

Er is the present tense of å være, which means to be.

So:

• er = is / am / are, depending on the subject

Norwegian does not change this form for different persons:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• ørkenen er = the desert is

Why is the adjective tørr and not tørt or tørre?