Denne skjeen er for stor, så jeg trenger en mindre til suppen.

This spoon is too big, so I need a smaller one for the soup.

Breakdown of Denne skjeen er for stor, så jeg trenger en mindre til suppen.

• jeg: I
• være: to be
• en: a
• liten: small
• trenge: to need
• til: to
• suppe: the soup
• så: so
• denne: this
• skje: the spoon
• for stor: too big

Questions & Answers about Denne skjeen er for stor, så jeg trenger en mindre til suppen.

What is the English translation of the sentence "Denne skjeen er for stor, så jeg trenger en mindre til suppen."?

It translates as "This spoon is too big, so I need a smaller one for the soup."

Why does the sentence use both the demonstrative denne and the definite noun form skjeen?

In Norwegian, definite articles are added as suffixes to nouns. Skjeen means "the spoon," and when paired with a demonstrative like denne (meaning "this"), it emphasizes a particular, identifiable spoon. This dual marking of definiteness is common in Norwegian.

What role does the word for play in the phrase "for stor"?

Here, for functions as an adverb meaning "too" to indicate an excessive quality. So "for stor" means "too big" rather than using for in its common prepositional sense like "for the purpose of."

How is the word mindre constructed, and what does it mean?

Mindre is the comparative form of the adjective liten (meaning "small"). It translates to "smaller." In this sentence, "en mindre" effectively means "a smaller one," implying that a spoon of a smaller size is needed.

What does the phrase "til suppen" indicate in this sentence?

The phrase "til suppen" means "for the soup." The preposition til indicates purpose or association, and suppen is the definite form of suppe (meaning "the soup"), specifying that the smaller spoon is intended for the soup.