Vi jobber i en butikk.

a

Breakdown of Vi jobber i en butikk.

• vi: we
• butikk: the store
• jobbe: to work
• i: in

Questions & Answers about Vi jobber i en butikk.

Why do we use i here instead of på?

In Norwegian, i is typically used to specify a location when you are inside or contained within something, like a store (butikk), office (kontor), or city (by). På can also mean "at/in," but it's more often used with open or specific locations (like på skolen – "at school," or på jobb – "at work").

Why is the article en used before butikk?

Norwegian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Butikk is a masculine noun, so it takes the indefinite article en. If the noun were feminine, you'd see ei, and if it were neuter, you'd see et.

Why is jobber used instead of another form of the verb jobbe?

Jobber is the present tense form of jobbe. Present tense is used for ongoing or habitual actions in Norwegian. It corresponds to both the simple present and present continuous in English, so "We work" and "We are working" can both be: Vi jobber.

Could I say Vi arbeider i en butikk instead?

Yes. Jobbe and arbeide both mean "to work," although jobbe is slightly more informal and common in everyday speech, and arbeide can sound a bit more formal. Both are correct.

Why isn’t it Vi jobber i en butikken?

Because adding the definite suffix -en to butikk would make it butikken ("the store"). You only need the indefinite article en ("a") to match the indefinite use of butikk. Saying i en butikken would mix the indefinite article with the definite form, which is incorrect in Norwegian.