Vannskålen står ved kattelemmen.

The water bowl stands by the cat flap.

Breakdown of Vannskålen står ved kattelemmen.

• ved: at
• stå: to stand
• vannskålen: the water bowl
• kattelemmen: the cat flap

Questions & Answers about Vannskålen står ved kattelemmen.

Why does vannskålen end in -en?

Because -en is the definite ending for many masculine nouns in Norwegian. Instead of putting a separate word like the in front, Norwegian usually adds the definiteness to the end of the noun.

So:

• en vannskål = a water bowl
• vannskålen = the water bowl

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian.

Why does kattelemmen also end in -en?

For the same reason: it is a definite noun, meaning the cat flap.

The basic form is:

• en kattelem = a cat flap
• kattelemmen = the cat flap

Notice that the definite form here becomes -emmen, not just -en added mechanically to the full word. That is because the noun is kattelem, and in the definite form Norwegian doubles the m: kattelemmen. This is a normal spelling pattern for some nouns.

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

Because Norwegian usually expresses the by attaching an ending to the noun.

So English says:

• the water bowl
• the cat flap

But Norwegian says:

• vannskålen
• kattelemmen

This is one of the biggest differences from English. The definiteness is built into the noun itself.