Paien står på bordet.

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Breakdown of Paien står på bordet.

• bordet: the table
• stå: to stand
• paien: the pie

Questions & Answers about Paien står på bordet.

Why do paien and bordet have endings instead of a separate word for the?

Because Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• pai = pie
• paien = the pie
• bord = table
• bordet = the table

So instead of a separate word like English the, Norwegian often uses an ending:

• common gender singular: -en
• neuter singular: -et

That is why the sentence has paien and bordet, not a separate word for the.

Why is it paien but bordet?

Because the two nouns have different grammatical genders.

• en pai → paien
• et bord → bordet

In Bokmål, pai is a common gender noun, so its definite singular form takes -en.

bord is a neuter noun, so its definite singular form takes -et.

So the gender determines which definite ending you use.

Why is there no separate article before paien?