Hun tar av masken.

She takes off the mask.

Breakdown of Hun tar av masken.

• hun: she
• ta av: to take off
• masken: the mask

Questions & Answers about Hun tar av masken.

Why is it tar av and not just tar?

Because ta av is a very common Norwegian particle verb.
Here, ta means take, and av adds the idea of off or away.

So:

• ta = take
• ta av = take off / remove

In this sentence, Hun tar av masken means she is removing the mask.

Why is av separated from ta?

This happens a lot with Norwegian particle verbs.

The full verb is ta av, but in a normal main clause, the finite verb comes early in the sentence, while the particle often stays later:

• Hun tar av masken.

So even though ta av belongs together in meaning, it gets split in the sentence.

You can think of it a bit like English:

• She takes off the mask.

English also separates takes and off.

What form is tar?

Tar is the present tense of ta.

So:

• å ta = to take
• tar = take / takes
• tok = took
• har tatt = have/has taken

In this sentence, tar means takes.

Why is it masken and not ?