Han bruker slipset på møtet.

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Breakdown of Han bruker slipset på møtet.

• møtet: the meeting
• på: at
• bruke: to use

Questions & Answers about Han bruker slipset på møtet.

Why is it bruker here? Doesn’t that usually mean use?

Yes—bruke often means to use, but it can also mean to wear in Norwegian.

So Han bruker slipset på møtet can mean He wears the tie at the meeting.

A learner should know that for clothes, Norwegian often uses:

• bruke = wear
• ha på seg = have on / be wearing

So these are both possible, though they are not always used in exactly the same way:

• Han bruker slipset på møtet.
• Han har på seg slipset på møtet.

In many everyday situations, ha på seg sounds a bit more directly like be wearing, while bruke can sound slightly more general.

Why is it slipset and not slips?

Because slipset is the definite singular form of slips.

The noun is:

• et slips = a tie
• slipset = the tie

So:

• Han bruker slips. = He wears a tie. / He wears ties.
• Han bruker slipset. = He wears the tie.

The -et ending marks the noun as definite because slips is a neuter noun.

Is slips really a neuter noun?