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Questions & Answers about Boken har kul omslag.
Why is the noun written as Boken instead of just bok?
In Norwegian, adding -en to the noun bok forms the definite version, so Boken means “the book.” This definite ending is a common way in Norwegian to signal that you're talking about a specific item.
What is the role of har in this sentence?
Har is the present tense of the verb å ha, which means “to have.” In this sentence, it expresses possession, similar to “has” in the English sentence “The book has a cool cover.”
Why does the adjective kul remain uninflected instead of changing to kult?
When adjectives are used predicatively—that is, when they come after the verb (here, har) to describe something—they stay in their base form without inflection. If the adjective were used attributively, directly before the noun (for example, et kult omslag), it would take a neuter ending to agree with omslag. In this sentence, since kul omslag acts as a predicative complement, the adjective remains uninflected.
Why is there no article before omslag in the phrase kul omslag?
Norwegian often allows the omission of the indefinite article in certain possessive constructions when describing a general characteristic. While you could say Boken har et kult omslag (“The book has a cool cover”), it’s also acceptable in a more informal style to drop the article, resulting in Boken har kul omslag.
Is there any difference in meaning between Boken har kul omslag and Boken har et kult omslag?
Both versions mean that the book has a cool cover. The difference lies in the grammatical construction. Boken har kul omslag uses a predicative adjective (with kul uninflected), while Boken har et kult omslag uses the attributive form with the indefinite article et and the inflected adjective kult. The choice between them can depend on formality or stylistic preference, but the overall meaning remains the same.
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