Questions & Answers about Han virker feig i dag.
What does virker mean here, and how is it different from er?
Here virker means seems / appears.
So:
- Han virker feig i dag = he seems cowardly today
- Han er feig i dag = he is cowardly today
That is an important difference. Virker suggests an impression, not a definite fact. The speaker is judging from what they see or feel.
Why is feig used without any ending here?
Because feig is a predicative adjective here: it comes after a linking verb, in this case virker.
In Norwegian, adjectives used after verbs like:
- være = to be
- bli = to become
- virke = to seem
often appear in their basic form, depending on the subject.
With han (a singular common-gender person), the basic form feig is correct:
- Han er feig
- Han virker feig
You would see other forms with other subjects, for example:
- Det virker feigt
- De virker feige
Why isn’t it feigt?