Jeg henter melk i butikken.

I fetch milk at the store.

Breakdown of Jeg henter melk i butikken.

• jeg: I
• butikk: the store
• hente: to fetch
• melk: the milk
• i: at

Questions & Answers about Jeg henter melk i butikken.

What does the verb henter mean and why is it used in this sentence?

The verb henter is the present tense form of å hente, which means “to fetch” or “to pick up.” In this sentence, it indicates that the subject is retrieving something—in this case, milk—from a place. It’s similar to saying “I’m picking up milk” in English, and it does not necessarily imply purchasing, although in context it often involves buying.

Why is the noun butikken written in a different form compared to the base noun?

Butikken is the definite form of the noun butikk (which means “store”). In Norwegian, instead of using a separate word for “the,” the definite article is added as a suffix to the noun. So, butikk becomes butikken to indicate “the store.”

Why is there no article before melk in the sentence?

In Norwegian, melk is treated as an uncountable (or mass) noun, much like “milk” in English. Uncountable nouns usually do not take an article when referring to the substance in general. That’s why the sentence uses melk without any preceding article.

How does the sentence structure compare to English word order?

The sentence follows a subject-verb-object structure similar to English. Jeg (I) is the subject, henter (fetch/pick up) is the verb, and melk (milk) is the object. The location phrase i butikken (in/at the store) is placed at the end, which aligns well with typical English sentence construction where the place or context is mentioned after the main action.

Could henter imply buying the milk, or is it strictly about fetching?

The verb henter primarily means “to fetch” or “to pick up,” and it indicates the action of going to a place to get something. While it doesn’t inherently mean “to buy,” in many everyday contexts—such as a trip to the store—it is understood that fetching something like milk might include purchasing it. The exact implication depends on the broader context, but by itself, henter does not necessarily indicate an exchange of money.