Breakdown of Politiet undersøker mafiaen.
undersøke
to investigate; examine
politiet
the police
mafiaen
the mafia
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Questions & Answers about Politiet undersøker mafiaen.
Why is there no separate word for the in Politiet and mafiaen?
In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word before it.
- politi = police
- politiet = the police
and
- mafia = mafia
- mafiaen = the mafia
So Politiet undersøker mafiaen literally looks like Police-the investigates mafia-the, but in natural English it is The police are investigating the mafia.
Why is it politiet and not politien?
Because politi is a neuter noun in Norwegian, and neuter nouns normally take -et in the definite singular.
- et politi = a police force / a police authority
- politiet = the police
By contrast, many common-gender nouns take -en:
- en bil → bilen
- en mafia → mafiaen
So the different endings reflect grammatical gender, not meaning.
Is politiet singular or plural?