Læreren straffer eleven.

the teacher

Breakdown of Læreren straffer eleven.

• eleven: the pupil
• straffe: to punish

Questions & Answers about Læreren straffer eleven.

Why do læreren and eleven have endings instead of a separate word for the?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

• lærer = teacher

• læreren = the teacher

• elev = student / pupil
• eleven = the student / pupil

So:

• Læreren straffer eleven. = The teacher punishes the student.

This is very normal in Norwegian. Instead of saying a separate word like English the, Norwegian often adds:

• -en for many common singular nouns
• -et for many neuter singular nouns
• -a or -en for some feminine singular nouns, depending on style/dialect

How do I know who is doing the action and who is receiving it?

Norwegian usually relies on word order, just like English.

In Læreren straffer eleven:

• Læreren = the subject, the one doing the action
• straffer = the verb
• eleven = the object, the one receiving the action

So the sentence means:

• The teacher punishes the student

If you switched the nouns, the meaning would change:

• Eleven straffer læreren. = The student punishes the teacher

What tense is straffer?