Hunden forfølger katten.

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

• hund = dog
• hunden = the dog
• katt = cat
• katten = the cat

So -en here marks definite singular for these nouns.

Because Norwegian usually puts definiteness on the noun itself.

In English, you say:

• the dog
• the cat

In Norwegian, you usually say:

• hunden
• katten

So the sentence does not need a separate word like English the.

The dictionary forms are:

• hund = dog
• forfølge = to pursue, chase, persecute
• katt = cat

The sentence uses inflected forms:

• hunden = the dog
• forfølger = pursues / is pursuing
• katten = the cat

Norwegian main clauses usually follow the pattern:

subject + verb + object

So:

• Hunden = subject
• forfølger = verb
• katten = object

That is the normal word order, just like in English:

The dog chases the cat.

Forfølger is present tense.

It can mean:

• chases
• is chasing
• pursues
• is pursuing

Like English simple present and present progressive, Norwegian present tense can cover both ideas depending on context.

Not always. Forfølge can mean several related things, depending on context:

• physically chase or pursue
• follow after
• persecute or harass

So in a simple sentence with a dog and a cat, chases is the most natural meaning. But in other contexts it can be more like pursues or even persecutes.

The letter ø is a vowel sound that does not exist exactly the same way in standard English.

A rough guide:

• for sounds somewhat like fohr
• følg has the ø sound, with rounded lips
• -er at the end is a light unstressed ending

A very rough approximation might be something like:

for-FURL-ger or for-FØL-ger

But that is only approximate. The important part is that ø is a rounded front vowel. To make it, try saying an e-type vowel while rounding your lips.

Because katt is a masculine noun in Bokmål, and masculine singular definite nouns usually take -en.

So:

• en katt = a cat
• katten = the cat

If a noun were neuter, it would usually take -et in the definite singular.

You would usually say:

En hund forfølger en katt.

Here:

• en hund = a dog
• en katt = a cat

So the difference is:

• Hunden forfølger katten = The dog chases the cat
• En hund forfølger en katt = A dog chases a cat

Yes, but it changes the meaning.

• Hunden forfølger katten = The dog chases the cat
• Katten forfølger hunden = The cat chases the dog

Because Norwegian mainly shows who does what through word order in a basic sentence, the first noun is normally the subject and the second noun is normally the object.

Yes. In Norwegian, verbs do not change for person the way they do in English.

So you get:

• jeg forfølger = I pursue
• du forfølger = you pursue
• han/hun forfølger = he/she pursues
• vi forfølger = we pursue

That makes Norwegian verb forms simpler than English in this area.

Yes. The Norwegian present tense can describe:

• something happening now
• something that happens regularly
• a general truth or typical action

So Hunden forfølger katten could mean:

• the dog is chasing the cat right now
• the dog chases the cat habitually

Context tells you which meaning is intended.