Skjoldet beskytter mannen.

the man

Breakdown of Skjoldet beskytter mannen.

• beskytte: to protect
• skjoldet: the shield

Questions & Answers about Skjoldet beskytter mannen.

Why do skjoldet and mannen have endings attached instead of using a separate word like the?

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun.

• skjold = shield

• skjoldet = the shield

• mann = man
• mannen = the man

So instead of saying a separate word for the, Norwegian often puts that meaning into the noun ending itself.

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Why does skjoldet end in -et, but mannen ends in -en?

That is because the two nouns belong to different grammatical genders.

• et skjold → neuter gender
• en mann → common gender

In the singular definite form:

• neuter nouns usually take -et → skjoldet
• common-gender nouns usually take -en → mannen

So the endings are not random; they match the noun’s gender.

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What form of the verb is beskytter?

Beskytter is the present tense of the verb å beskytte (to protect).

Examples:

• å beskytte = to protect
• beskytter = protects / is protecting

Norwegian present tense is often made by adding -r to the infinitive stem:

• beskytte → beskytter

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