Mannskapet er klart.

The crew is ready.

Breakdown of Mannskapet er klart.

• være: to be
• klar: ready
• mannskapet: the crew

Questions & Answers about Mannskapet er klart.

Why does mannskap become mannskapet here?

Because Norwegian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

• mannskap = crew / a crew
• mannskapet = the crew

So the ending -et is the neuter singular definite ending, equivalent to English the.

What gender is mannskap, and why does that matter?

Mannskap is a neuter noun in Norwegian, so it takes et in the indefinite form:

• et mannskap = a crew

That gender matters because adjectives often agree with the noun. That is why the sentence has klart rather than klar.

Why is it klart and not klar?

Because klart is the neuter singular form of the adjective klar.

Here, klar means something like ready or prepared, and it agrees with mannskapet, which is neuter singular.

Compare:

• Bilen er klar. = The car is ready. (bil is common gender)
• Huset er klart. = The house is ready. (hus is neuter)
• Folkene er klare. = The people are ready. (plural)

So:

• mannskapet = neuter singular
• therefore klart