Boken er fascinerende.

The book is fascinating.

Breakdown of Boken er fascinerende.

• være: to be
• boken: the book
• fascinerende: fascinating

Questions & Answers about Boken er fascinerende.

Why is it boken and not bok?

Because boken is the definite singular form of bok.

In Norwegian, you usually show the by adding an ending to the noun rather than putting a separate word in front of it.

• bok = book (dictionary form)
• en bok = a book
• boken = the book

So Boken er fascinerende refers to the book, not just a book or books in general.

Why is there no separate word for the?

Norwegian often puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

So instead of:

• the book

you normally get:

• boken

This ending works like the. That is a very common pattern in Norwegian.

A few more examples:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car
• et hus = a house
• huset = the house

What does er mean?