Årsmodellen er gammel.

to be

Breakdown of Årsmodellen er gammel.

• gammel: old
• årsmodellen: the model year

Questions & Answers about Årsmodellen er gammel.

Why is årsmodellen written as one word?

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

Here, år + modell become årsmodell, and the definite form is årsmodellen.

This is very common in Norwegian:

• bil
  • dør → bildør
• sommer
  • ferie → sommerferie

So English often uses two words where Norwegian prefers one compound word.

What does the -s- in årsmodellen do?

The -s- is a linking sound/letter used in many Norwegian compounds.

So the structure is:

• år = year
• modell = model
• årsmodell = year-model / model year

This -s- does not always mean possession the way English 's does. It is often just a normal part of compound formation.

Other examples:

• liv
  • historie → livshistorie
• arbeid
  • dag → arbeidsdag

Why does årsmodellen end in -en?