Møtet varer høyst en time.

The meeting lasts at most one hour.

Breakdown of Møtet varer høyst en time.

• møtet: the meeting
• timen: the hour
• vare: to last
• en: one

Questions & Answers about Møtet varer høyst en time.

Why is it møtet and not møte?

Because møtet is the definite form of the noun.

• et møte = a meeting
• møtet = the meeting

Norwegian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the in English.

So:

• Møte varer høyst en time would sound wrong here
• Møtet varer høyst en time = The meeting lasts at most one hour

What does varer mean here?

Varer is the present tense of the verb å vare, which means to last or to continue for a certain amount of time.

Examples:

• Filmen varer i to timer. = The movie lasts two hours.
• Kurset varer en uke. = The course lasts one week.

So in this sentence, varer means lasts.

Why is varer in the present tense?

Norwegian often uses the present tense for scheduled events, general facts, or statements about what something does.

So Møtet varer høyst en time means something like:

• The meeting lasts at most an hour
• The meeting will last at most an hour

Even if the meeting is in the future, the present tense is very natural in Norwegian here.