Politiet følger den tiltalte.

to follow

Breakdown of Politiet følger den tiltalte.

• politiet: the police
• den tiltalte: the defendant

Questions & Answers about Politiet følger den tiltalte.

Why is politiet translated as the police even though it looks like a singular word?

Politiet is the definite form of politi, and it usually refers to the police as an institution or force. In English, we normally say the police, even though Norwegian uses this single definite form.

So:

• politi = police
• politiet = the police

Norwegian verbs do not change for singular and plural, so you do not get a special plural verb form here.

Why is the verb følger and not følge?

Følge is the infinitive, meaning to follow.

In the sentence, you need the present tense, so Norwegian adds -r:

• å følge = to follow
• følger = follow / is following

So Politiet følger den tiltalte is in the present tense.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The sentence follows the normal main-clause pattern:

• Politiet = subject
• følger = verb
• den tiltalte = object

So it is:

Subject + Verb + Object

That is very similar to basic English word order.

Why is there den before tiltalte?