Kartet ble ubrukelig i regnet.

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Breakdown of Kartet ble ubrukelig i regnet.

• bli: to become
• regnet: the rain
• kartet: the map

Questions & Answers about Kartet ble ubrukelig i regnet.

Why is kartet used here, and how does it mean the map?

Kart is the dictionary form and means map.

In Norwegian, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word. Since kart is a neuter noun, the definite ending is -et:

• et kart = a map
• kartet = the map

So kartet already includes the meaning of the map.

What does ble mean here?

Ble is the past tense of bli, which usually means become.

So:

• blir = becomes
• ble = became

In this sentence, Kartet ble ubrukelig means The map became useless / unusable.

It shows a change of state: the map was usable before, and then the rain made it unusable.

Is this a passive sentence because it uses ble?