Overflaten er våt.

The surface is wet.

Breakdown of Overflaten er våt.

• være: to be
• våt: wet
• overflaten: the surface

Questions & Answers about Overflaten er våt.

Why does overflaten end in -en?

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

• en overflate = a surface
• overflaten = the surface

So unlike English, Norwegian normally does not use a separate word like the here.

Is overflate masculine or feminine?

In Bokmål, overflate can be treated as either:

• en overflate → overflaten
• ei overflate → overflata

So Overflaten er våt is a perfectly normal Bokmål sentence. You may also see Overflata er våt, especially in more feminine-style Bokmål or in Nynorsk-like usage.

Why is the verb er used?

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

It corresponds to English am / is / are, but Norwegian uses the same present-tense form for all persons:

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

So overflaten er våt follows the normal pattern: subject + verb + adjective.

Why is it våt and not vått?