Støvmasken er verneutstyr.

The dust mask is protective equipment.

Breakdown of Støvmasken er verneutstyr.

• være: to be
• støvmasken: the dust mask
• verneutstyret: the protective equipment

Questions & Answers about Støvmasken er verneutstyr.

Why does støvmaske become støvmasken here?

Because -en is the usual definite ending for many masculine and feminine/common-gender nouns in Bokmål.

• en støvmaske = a dust mask
• støvmasken = the dust mask

So Støvmasken means the dust mask.

What does er mean?

Er means is / am / are. It is the present tense of the verb å være (to be).

So:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han/hun er = he/she is

In this sentence, er means is.

Why is there no article before verneutstyr?

In Norwegian, when a noun names what something is by category, job, material, or type, it is often left indefinite, with no article.

So:

• Støvmasken er verneutstyr. = The dust mask is protective equipment.

This is similar to English sentences like:

• She is a teacher
• This is gold
• That is safety equipment

Norwegian often avoids an article in this kind of structure.

Is verneutstyr singular or plural?