Han spiser brød.

He eats bread.

Breakdown of Han spiser brød.

• han: he
• spise: to eat
• brød: the bread

Questions & Answers about Han spiser brød.

Why is han used here instead of hun?

In Norwegian, han means he and hun means she. Since the sentence refers to a male subject, han is the correct pronoun.

How do I know whether spiser means eats or is eating?

Norwegian doesn’t distinguish between eats and is eating in the present tense. Han spiser brød can mean either He eats bread or He is eating bread, depending on context.

Why don’t we include an article like et before brød?

In Norwegian, mass nouns (like bread, water, milk) typically don’t take an article unless you’re talking about a specific loaf or piece. Han spiser brød just refers to bread in general.

Can I say Han spiser et brød? Would that still be correct?

You could, but it would imply he’s eating a whole loaf of bread (a specific item). Han spiser brød is more general: he’s eating bread, but not necessarily one entire loaf.

Is brød singular or plural in this sentence?

The word brød can function like a mass noun in Norwegian, so it doesn’t really have a plural form in this context. It’s simply bread in a non-count sense.