Familien sørger.

the family

Breakdown of Familien sørger.

• sørge: to mourn

Questions & Answers about Familien sørger.

Why is it familien and not familie?

Familien means the family.

In Norwegian, familie is the basic noun form, and -n / -en is added to make it definite:

• en familie = a family
• familien = the family

So the sentence is specifically talking about the family, not just a family.

What form is sørger?

Sørger is the present tense of the verb å sørge.

So:

• å sørge = to grieve / to mourn
• sørger = grieves / is grieving / mourns

In a simple sentence like Familien sørger, Norwegian often uses the present tense where English might say either grieves or is grieving.

Why is there no separate word for is?

Because sørger already works as the full verb.

In English, you often need is + -ing to express an ongoing action, as in is grieving. In Norwegian, the simple present tense often covers that idea by itself:

• Familien sørger = The family grieves / The family is grieving

So there is no need to add a separate word meaning is here.

Does sørger only mean grieves?