Politiet begynner avhøret.

to begin

Breakdown of Politiet begynner avhøret.

• politiet: the police
• avhøret: the interrogation

Questions & Answers about Politiet begynner avhøret.

Why does politiet end in -et?

Because politiet is the definite form of politi.

In Norwegian, you usually do not put a separate word before the noun for the. Instead, the noun often gets a definite ending:

• et politi = a police force / a police authority (less common in this exact meaning)
• politiet = the police

So politiet means the police.

This is very common in Norwegian:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car
• et hus = a house
• huset = the house

Even though English uses a separate word (the), Norwegian often attaches definiteness to the end of the noun.

Why is politiet treated like singular when English police often behaves like a plural word?

In Norwegian, politiet is normally treated as a singular neuter noun when it refers to the police as an institution or authority.

That is why the verb is singular:

• Politiet begynner avhøret. = The police begin the interrogation.

In English, police often behaves like a plural noun:

• The police are...

But in Norwegian:

• Politiet er...
• Politiet begynner...

So this is a grammar difference between the two languages. Even though the meaning may involve multiple officers, the noun itself is grammatically singular in Norwegian.

What form is begynner?