Håven holder fangsten.

The landing net holds the catch.

Breakdown of Håven holder fangsten.

• holde: to hold
• håven: the landing net
• fangsten: the catch

Questions & Answers about Håven holder fangsten.

Why is there no separate word for the in this sentence?

Because Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

• håv = net

• håven = the net

• fangst = catch
• fangsten = the catch

So -en here is doing the job that the does in English.

What is the base form of håven?

The base form is håv, which means a kind of net, usually a landing net or hand net rather than just any net in general.

So:

• en håv = a net
• håven = the net

Why do both nouns end in -en?

Because both nouns are in the singular definite form.

In Bokmål, many masculine nouns make the definite singular by adding -en:

• en håv → håven
• en fangst → fangsten

So the ending is not part of the root word; it marks definiteness.

What form is holder?