Vakten følger fangen.

the guard

Breakdown of Vakten følger fangen.

• følge: to follow
• fangen: the prisoner

Questions & Answers about Vakten følger fangen.

Why is there no separate word for the in this sentence?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

So:

vakt = guard
vakten = the guard

fange = prisoner
fangen = the prisoner

The ending -en here marks singular definite for these nouns.

What are the basic dictionary forms of vakten and fangen?

The dictionary forms are:

vakt = guard
fange = prisoner

Their indefinite forms are:

en vakt = a guard
en fange = a prisoner

Their definite forms are:

vakten = the guard
fangen = the prisoner

Both nouns are normally treated as common gender nouns in Bokmål, so they take en in the singular.

Why is the verb følger and not følge?

Følge is the infinitive form, like to follow in English.

Følger is the present tense form, meaning follow/follows.

So:

å følge = to follow
følger = follow / follows

In this sentence, the action is happening in the present, so følger is the correct form.

Does the verb change depending on who does the action?