Han vasker koppen i vasken.

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Breakdown of Han vasker koppen i vasken.

• i: in
• vaske: to wash
• koppen: the cup

Questions & Answers about Han vasker koppen i vasken.

Why do koppen and vasken end in -en?

Because -en is the usual definite singular ending for many Norwegian nouns of common gender.

• en kopp = a cup
• koppen = the cup
• en vask = a sink
• vasken = the sink

So Norwegian often puts the idea of the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

Why isn’t there a separate word for the before koppen and vasken?

In a simple noun phrase, Norwegian normally uses the definite ending instead of a separate article.

So:

• koppen = the cup
• not the + kopp

This is different from English.
However, when there is an adjective, Norwegian often uses double definiteness:

• den rene koppen = the clean cup

So in this sentence, koppen and vasken are enough by themselves.

What is vasker grammatically?