Questions & Answers about Den homofile mannen bor i byen.
Why does Norwegian use den homofile mannen instead of just mannen?
Because Norwegian normally uses double definiteness when a noun is definite and has an adjective before it.
- mannen = the man
- den homofile mannen = the gay man
So you get:
- den
- adjective + noun with definite ending
This is very common in Bokmål:
- den gamle bilen = the old car
- det store huset = the big house
- de røde eplene = the red apples
If you remove the adjective, you usually also remove den:
- mannen bor i byen
Why is it homofile and not homofil?
Because adjectives usually take the -e form when they are used in a definite phrase.
Compare:
- en homofil mann = a gay man
- den homofile mannen = the gay man
So homofil is the basic singular form, while homofile is the form used here because the noun phrase is definite.
This same pattern happens with many adjectives:
- en stor bil → den store bilen
- en gammel mann → den gamle mannen
Does homofile mean plural here?