Breakdown of Stjernebildet er synlig nær Karlsvogna.
være
to be
nær
near
synlig
visible
stjernebildet
the constellation
Questions & Answers about Stjernebildet er synlig nær Karlsvogna.
Why is it stjernebildet and not just stjernebilde?
Because -et marks the definite form of the noun: the constellation.
- et stjernebilde = a constellation
- stjernebildet = the constellation
This is very common in Norwegian: the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun rather than written as a separate word.
What kind of word is stjernebilde, and how is it built?
Stjernebilde is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Norwegian.
It is made from:
- stjerne = star
- bilde = picture/image
So literally it is something like star-picture, which corresponds to constellation.
In the sentence, it becomes stjernebildet in the definite form.
Why does the sentence use er synlig instead of one single word meaning is visible?
That is simply how Norwegian expresses this idea:
- er = is
- synlig = visible
So er synlig = is visible
This works much like English:
- The constellation is visible
- Stjernebildet er synlig
Synlig is an adjective here, describing the constellation.