Mesteparten av maten er borte.

Most of the food is gone.

Breakdown of Mesteparten av maten er borte.

• være: to be
• maten: the food
• av: of
• borte: gone

Questions & Answers about Mesteparten av maten er borte.

What does mesteparten mean, and why is it one word?

Mesteparten means most of it or the majority/most part.

It is a fixed noun-like expression made from:

• meste = most
• parten = the part

So mesteparten av maten means most of the food.

In Norwegian, expressions like this are often written as one word:

• mesteparten = most of it / most part
• flertallet = the majority
• mindretallet = the minority

Why is there av in mesteparten av maten?

Av means of here.

So:

• mesteparten av maten = most of the food

This is the normal structure in Norwegian:

• mesteparten av boka = most of the book
• mesteparten av folkene = most of the people

You usually need av after mesteparten when you say what whole something is taken from.

Why is it maten and not just mat?

Maten is the definite form of mat:

• mat = food
• maten = the food

Since the sentence is talking about a specific food supply or a known amount of food, Norwegian uses the definite form:

• mesteparten av maten = most of the food

If you said mesteparten av mat, that would sound wrong in normal Norwegian.