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Questions & Answers about Gitaren er gammel.
Why does the noun gitaren end with -en instead of appearing as just gitar?
In Norwegian, definite nouns are formed by attaching a suffix to the base word. The base form is gitar, and adding -en creates the definite form gitaren, which means “the guitar”. The -en is the marker for masculine singular definite nouns.
Why is the adjective gammel not changed to something like gammelen when describing gitaren?
Because gitaren er gammel uses a predicative construction where the adjective follows the linking verb er. In such cases, adjectives remain in their base form without additional endings. If the adjective were used attributively—placed before the noun—it would typically take an ending, as in den gamle gitaren.
What is the role of the verb er in this sentence?
The word er is the present tense form of the verb å være (to be). It acts as a linking verb that connects the subject gitaren with the predicate adjective gammel, telling us about the state or quality of the guitar.
How does the sentence structure in Gitaren er gammel compare to that of an English sentence like “The guitar is old”?
Both Norwegian and English use a subject-verb-complement structure in this case. In Gitaren er gammel, the subject (gitaren) comes first, followed by the verb (er), and finally the predicate adjective (gammel), much like the English sentence “The guitar is old”.
What difference would it make if I used the adjective before the noun instead?
Placing the adjective before the noun creates an attributive phrase. For example, den gamle gitaren means “the old guitar”. In attributive use, the adjective is typically inflected (here, gammel changes to gamle) to agree with the noun’s definiteness, gender, and number, unlike in the predicative construction where no ending is added.
Is there any nuance between the predicative sentence Gitaren er gammel and the attributive phrase den gamle gitaren?
Yes. Gitaren er gammel is a predicative sentence describing the state of the guitar (i.e., stating that the guitar is old). In contrast, den gamle gitaren serves as an attributive noun phrase used to specify which guitar is being talked about—the one that is old. The difference lies in the grammatical construction and the form of the adjective rather than a change in the basic meaning.