Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Anna drikker vann.

In Norwegian, the present tense drikker can express both the simple present ("drinks") and the present continuous ("is drinking"). There is no separate continuous tense form in Norwegian, so drikker covers both meanings.

Why is there no article before vann?

In Norwegian, vann is considered an uncountable noun and usually doesn't take an indefinite article. If you wanted to specify a certain quantity, you could say something like et glass vann ("a glass of water"), but generally you just say vann.

How is drikker pronounced?

A simple way to describe it is as two syllables. The first part drik sounds a bit like "drick" in English, and the second part -ker often sounds like "kur," so together you're pronouncing it somewhat like "DRIK-ker." The exact pronunciation can vary slightly regionally.

Why doesn't Anna change form in the sentence?

In Norwegian, personal names such as Anna don’t change form based on grammatical case. The name remains Anna whether she's the subject, object, or in a possessive structure. Norwegian relies more on word order, prepositions, and possessive forms to convey those roles.

Can we say Anna vann drikker with a different word order?