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Questions & Answers about Gudene var mektige.
What does gudene mean, and why does it end in -ene?
Gudene means the gods.
The noun is:
- gud = god
- guder = gods
- gudene = the gods
In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word. So -ene here is the definite plural ending, roughly equivalent to English the in the gods.
Why isn’t there a separate word for the?
Because Norwegian usually builds definiteness into the noun itself.
So instead of saying:
- the gods
Norwegian says:
- gudene
This is very common in Norwegian:
- bok = book
- boka / boken = the book
- bøker = books
- bøkene = the books
So gudene already includes the meaning of the.
What is var?