Jernrammen holder strengespennet stabilt.

The iron frame keeps the string tension stable.

Breakdown of Jernrammen holder strengespennet stabilt.

• holde: to keep
• stabil: stable
• strengespennet: the string tension
• jernrammen: the iron frame

Questions & Answers about Jernrammen holder strengespennet stabilt.

Why are jernrammen and strengespennet written as single words?

Because Norwegian forms compound nouns very readily, and they are usually written as one word.

• jernrammen = jern
  • rammen
    literally iron-frame-the
• strengespennet = strenge-
  • spennet
    literally something like string-tension-the

This is much more normal in Norwegian than writing separate words. English often uses separate words where Norwegian prefers one compound.

What does the ending -en in jernrammen mean?

The -en marks the noun as definite singular: the iron frame.

The base noun is en ramme = a frame.
Its definite form is rammen = the frame.

So:

• en jernramme = an iron frame
• jernrammen = the iron frame

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

What does the ending -et in strengespennet mean?