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Questions & Answers about Boken er spennende.
What does each word in “Boken er spennende” mean?
Boken is the definite form of “bok” (meaning book), where the ending -en indicates “the book.” Er is the present tense form of å være (to be), similar to is in English. Spennende is an adjective that translates to exciting.
Why is the definite article not a separate word in this sentence?
In Norwegian, definiteness is expressed by adding a suffix directly to the noun rather than by using a separate word. In this case, bok (book) becomes boken to indicate “the book.”
Is the sentence structure similar to that of English?
Yes, the sentence follows a simple Subject-Verb-Predicate structure similar to English. Boken (subject) corresponds with the book, er (verb) is equivalent to is, and spennende (predicate adjective) matches with exciting.
Does the adjective spennende change form depending on gender or number?
No, in predicative use (after the linking verb er), adjectives in Norwegian remain in their base form regardless of gender or number. When used attributively (before the noun), some adjectives might be inflected to agree with the noun, but that isn’t necessary in this sentence.
How would you form a similar sentence in the plural form?
To express “The books are exciting,” you would use the plural definite form of “bok.” The indefinite plural is bøker, and the definite plural is bøkene. Thus, the sentence becomes Bøkene er spennende.