Breakdown of Gjesten er veldig vennlig og hjelper oss med å vaske opp.
være
to be
å
to
med
with
og
and
veldig
very
oss
us
hjelpe
to help
vennlig
friendly
gjest
the guest
vaske opp
to wash up
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Questions & Answers about Gjesten er veldig vennlig og hjelper oss med å vaske opp.
What does the word gjesten mean, and why does it have an -en ending?
Gjesten means "the guest." In Norwegian, definite nouns are typically formed by adding a suffix. The base word gjest ("guest") takes the suffix -en to indicate definiteness, much like adding "the" in English.
How do the adjectives veldig vennlig work in this sentence?
In this phrase, veldig means "very" and vennlig means "friendly." They work together to describe the subject by intensifying the quality—so the guest is "very friendly." This usage is very similar to how "very" is used in English.
Why is the verb hjelper in its particular form here?
The verb hjelper is the third-person singular present tense of å hjelpe (to help). Since gjesten ("the guest") is a singular subject, the verb is appropriately conjugated as hjelper to match it.
What is the role of the pronoun oss in the sentence?
Oss translates to "us" and functions as the object of the verb hjelper. It shows who benefits from the guest's help, just as in English when you say "helps us."
How does the phrase med å vaske opp function grammatically?
The phrase med å vaske opp means "with washing up." Here, the preposition med ("with") is followed by the infinitive form å vaske opp ("to wash up"). This construction explains the specific action the guest is helping with—it's a common way in Norwegian to connect a helping verb with an activity.
Is vaske opp considered a separable verb, and what should I know about its use?
Yes, vaske opp is a type of phrasal (or separable) verb in Norwegian. When used in the infinitive form with å (as in å vaske opp), the two parts stay together. In other contexts—especially in main clauses without å—the particle opp may move to a different position in the sentence. Understanding this separability is key when constructing similar sentences.
How does the conjunction og function in the sentence, and what does it connect?
The word og means "and" in English. It connects the two predicates that talk about the guest: that they are "veldig vennlig" ("very friendly") and that they "hjelper oss med å vaske opp" ("help us with washing up"). This reflects a sentence structure where one subject is described by two coordinated actions or qualities.