Stasjonen er liten, men den har et tog.

The station is small, but it has a train.

Breakdown of Stasjonen er liten, men den har et tog.

• være: to be
• ha: to have
• liten: small
• et: a
• stasjonen: the station
• men: but
• den: it
• tog: the train

Questions & Answers about Stasjonen er liten, men den har et tog.

Why is it Stasjonen (the station) instead of the indefinite form stasjon?

In Norwegian, adding -en to the end of a masculine noun makes it definite (the station). The basic noun is en stasjon, which means “a station.” When you say stasjonen, you’re saying “the station.”

Why do we say er liten instead of er lille or er lite?

Norwegian adjectives often change depending on whether the noun is indefinite or definite, singular or plural, and the gender. For en stasjon (masculine, singular, indefinite), the adjective would be liten. When you make the noun definite (stasjonen), you can still see that the base adjective is chosen for a masculine singular context. If it were a definite form used with another type of noun, you might see lille (for example, den lille byen “the small town”). Lite is used for neuter singular nouns (like et hus → et lite hus).

Why is the pronoun den used here?

Den is the masculine (and feminine) singular pronoun referring back to stasjonen. In Norwegian, stasjon is usually treated as a masculine noun, so the corresponding pronoun is den.

What does men mean, and how is it used in Norwegian?

Men means “but” and is used as a coordinating conjunction. It connects two independent clauses or phrases that contrast one another. Here, Stasjonen er liten contrasts with den har et tog.

Why do we say et tog for “a train”?

There are three grammatical genders in Norwegian: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Tog is a neuter noun. Hence, the correct indefinite article is et, making it et tog (“a train”).