Kalken er tørr.

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

• kalk = chalk/lime/plaster/cup (depending on context)
• kalken = the chalk / the lime / the cup, etc.

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

The dictionary form is kalk.

When you look up nouns in Norwegian, you normally look for the indefinite singular form:

• kalk = base form
• kalken = definite singular

Er means is / am / are.

It is the present tense of å være = to be.

A useful thing for English speakers: Norwegian does not change this verb for person in the present tense.

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han/hun er = he/she is
• vi er = we are

So er stays the same.

Because Norwegian adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number.

Here, the subject is singular and non-neuter, so the adjective is tørr.

Compare:

• Kalken er tørr. = singular, non-neuter
• Huset er tørt. = singular, neuter
• Steinene er tørre. = plural

So tørr is the correct form for this sentence.

Because this adjective is being used after the verb er, so it is a predicative adjective.

In Norwegian, predicative adjectives agree mainly with gender and number, not with definiteness in the same way that adjectives before nouns do.

So:

• kalken er tørr = correct
• den tørre kalken = also correct, but here the adjective is before the noun, so it takes the definite form tørre

This is an important contrast:

• The chalk is dry → Kalken er tørr
• The dry chalk → Den tørre kalken

In this sentence, kalk is treated as a masculine/common-gender noun, which is why the definite singular form is kalken.

For learners, the key thing is:

• singular definite often ends in -en for masculine/common nouns

So you can learn this pair as:

• en kalk
• kalken

The letter ø does not have an exact English equivalent.

A rough approximation is the vowel in British English bird or burn, but with rounded lips.

A few tips:

• Keep the sound short
• Round your lips more than you would in English
• The double consonant in tørr tells you the vowel is short

So tørr has a short ø sound, not a long one.

You switch the verb and the subject:

• Kalken er tørr. = The chalk/lime is dry.
• Er kalken tørr? = Is the chalk/lime dry?

This is a very common Norwegian pattern: the finite verb comes first in yes/no questions.

No, this is a very standard Norwegian statement pattern:

• Subject + verb + adjective/complement

So:

• Kalken = subject
• er = verb
• tørr = complement

It works very much like English The chalk is dry.

Not usually.

Kalken er tørr refers to a specific thing: the chalk/lime/plaster, the one already known in the situation.

Without the definite ending, kalk is more general, and the sentence can sound less natural or mean something more generic, depending on context.

So if you mean a particular item or substance already being talked about, kalken is the right form.