Breakdown of I e-posten ber han om sjefens adresse.
han
he
i
in
e-posten
the email
be om
to ask for
sjefen
the boss
adressen
the address
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Questions & Answers about I e-posten ber han om sjefens adresse.
What does I e-posten exactly mean, and why is e-posten in the definite form?
I e-posten means in the e-mail. In Norwegian, e-post is “e-mail,” and you add -en to make it definite (the e-mail). We use the definite form because we’re referring to a specific e-mail.
Why is the verb ber placed before the subject han?
Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule. When a sentence begins with an adverbial like I e-posten, the finite verb (ber) must come in the second position, pushing the subject (han) to third.
What role does the preposition om play in ber han om sjefens adresse?
The verb phrase be om noe literally means to ask for something. The om corresponds to English “for” in “ask for.”
Why is it han (nominative) rather than ham (accusative) after the verb?
han is the subject form (he), while ham is the object form (him). Here han is the one doing the asking, so you use the nominative han. You would use ham if he were receiving the action, e.g. Hun ber ham om hjelp (“She asks him for help”).
How do you form sjefens, and can I express the same idea differently?
You form the genitive by adding -s to the noun: sjef → sjefens (“the boss’s”). There is no apostrophe in Norwegian. Alternatively, you can say adressen til sjefen (“the address of the boss”).
What’s the difference between be om and spørre om?
- be om = to request something (a favor, permission, an item).
- spørre om = to ask/inquire about information or facts.
They overlap, but be om often feels more like a formal request, whereas spørre om is more like posing a question.
Can I move I e-posten to the end of the sentence, and what happens to the word order then?
Yes. You can say Han ber om sjefens adresse i e-posten. When you start with the subject (Han), you use normal SVO order and no inversion is needed.
Is there any variation in spelling e-posten (hyphen vs. no hyphen)?
The standard written form is e-post (hyphenated). Some modern texts drop the hyphen (epost), but the hyphen makes it clearer as a compound. The definite form simply adds -en: e-post → e-posten.