Det dype hullet er farlig.

to be

Breakdown of Det dype hullet er farlig.

• farlig: dangerous
• det: the
• hullet: the hole

Questions & Answers about Det dype hullet er farlig.

Why is it det and not den?

Because hull is a neuter noun in Norwegian.

• a hole = et hull
• the hole = hullet

For definite noun phrases with a neuter noun, you use det:

• det dype hullet = the deep hole

If the noun were a common-gender noun (an en noun), you would normally use den instead.

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Why does hull become hullet?

Hullet is the definite singular form of hull.

The pattern is:

• et hull = a hole
• hullet = the hole

Many neuter nouns form the definite singular with -et.

So in this sentence, hullet means the hole, not just hole.

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Why are both det and -et used? Don’t they both mean the?