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Questions & Answers about Hun drikker vann.
Why do we say Hun instead of something else to mean "she"?
In Norwegian, Hun is the feminine subject pronoun meaning "she". There isn’t an alternative like “hers” or “her” for a subject pronoun; Hun is consistently used to represent a female subject performing an action.
What does drikker mean and why isn’t there a separate form for “is drinking”?
Drikker is the present tense form of the verb drikke (to drink). In Norwegian, there isn’t a separate continuous tense like in English. Hun drikker vann can mean both “She drinks water” and “She is drinking water.”
Why is there no article before vann?
In Norwegian, countable nouns often need an article (like "en" or "ei"), but vann (water) is usually treated as an uncountable or mass noun. Thus, it doesn’t need a definite or indefinite article in this context. Saying Hun drikker vann is the standard way to express “She is drinking water.”
How do I pronounce drikker and vann properly?
• drikker: The "d" is pronounced as a soft /d/ sound, the "r" is slightly rolled or tapped, and the “i” is pronounced like the “i” in “bit.”
• vann: The “v” sounds like an English “v,” while the “a” is an “ah” sound, similar to the “a” in “father”; the final “n” is pronounced normally.