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Questions & Answers about Han drikker sterk kaffe.
What does each word in Han drikker sterk kaffe mean?
Han translates to he, drikker means drinks, sterk means strong, and kaffe means coffee. The sentence overall means He drinks strong coffee.
How does the adjective sterk agree with the noun kaffe in this sentence?
In Norwegian, adjectives agree with the noun’s gender and definiteness. Here, kaffe is a common gender noun in its indefinite form, so the adjective remains uninflected as sterk. If the noun were neuter, you would typically add a -t (resulting in sterkt).
Does the verb drikker change based on the subject, similar to English?
No, Norwegian verbs do not change their form according to the subject. The form drikker is used with all subjects in the present tense, unlike in English, where the verb changes (for example, he drinks vs. I drink).
What is the sentence structure of Han drikker sterk kaffe?
The sentence follows the typical Norwegian subject-verb-object (SVO) order. Han is the subject, drikker is the verb, and sterk kaffe functions as the object with sterk directly modifying kaffe.
Why is there no article before kaffe in this sentence?
In Norwegian, as in English, articles are often omitted when referring to general or uncountable substances. Here, kaffe refers to coffee in general rather than a particular instance, so no article is used.