Fuglen åpner vingene.

The bird opens its wings.

Breakdown of Fuglen åpner vingene.

• åpne: to open
• fuglen: the bird
• vingen: the wing (of a bird or aircraft)

Questions & Answers about Fuglen åpner vingene.

Why does fuglen end in -en?

Because fuglen is the definite singular form of fugl (bird).

In Norwegian, the is often attached to the noun as an ending instead of being a separate word.

• fugl = bird
• fuglen = the bird

So the -en here works like English the.

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

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually marked by a suffix on the noun.

So instead of:

• English: the bird
• Norwegian: fuglen

And instead of:

• English: the wings
• Norwegian: vingene

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Norwegian.

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What form is åpner?

Åpner is the present tense of the verb å åpne (to open).

So:

• å åpne = to open
• åpner = opens / is opening

In Norwegian, the present tense is often made by adding -r to the infinitive:

• snakke → snakker
• kjøpe → kjøper
• åpne → åpner

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