Breakdown of Rektoren snakker med læreren.
snakke
to talk
med
with
læreren
the teacher
rektoren
the school principal
Questions & Answers about Rektoren snakker med læreren.
Why do rektoren and læreren end in -en?
The ending -en is the definite singular ending in Norwegian Bokmål for many common-gender nouns.
So:
- en rektor = a principal / a headteacher
- rektoren = the principal / the headteacher
- en lærer = a teacher
- læreren = the teacher
Unlike English, Norwegian often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.
Why isn’t there a separate word for the in this sentence?
Because Norwegian usually expresses definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.
In English:
- the principal
- the teacher
In Norwegian:
- rektoren
- læreren
So the meaning of the is already built into the noun.
A separate article is not normally needed here.
Why is it snakker and not snakke?
Snakker is the present tense form of the verb å snakke (to speak / to talk).
- å snakke = infinitive = to speak / to talk
- snakker = present tense = speaks / is speaking / talks / is talking
So:
- Rektoren snakker med læreren = The principal speaks/is speaking with the teacher