Sigaretten ligger på bordet.

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Breakdown of Sigaretten ligger på bordet.

• bordet: the table
• ligge: to lie (be located)
• sigaretten: the cigarette

Questions & Answers about Sigaretten ligger på bordet.

Why does sigaretten end in -en?

Because sigaretten is the definite singular form of sigarett.

In Norwegian, the word for the is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• en sigarett = a cigarette
• sigaretten = the cigarette

So -en here means the.

Why does bordet end in -et instead of -en?

Because bord is a neuter noun.

Norwegian nouns have grammatical gender, and that affects the indefinite article and the definite ending:

• en
  • noun → many masculine/feminine/common-gender nouns
• et
  • noun → neuter nouns

So:

• et bord = a table
• bordet = the table

That is why it gets -et in the definite singular form.

Why isn’t there a separate word for the, like in English?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the noun as a suffix.

So instead of saying:

• the cigarette
• the table

Norwegian normally says:

• sigaretten
• bordet

This is one of the biggest differences from English noun structure.