Vi trenger en notatbok til skolen.

We need a notebook for school.

Breakdown of Vi trenger en notatbok til skolen.

• en: a
• vi: we
• trenge: to need
• skolen: the school
• til: for
• notatboken: the notebook

Questions & Answers about Vi trenger en notatbok til skolen.

What does trenger mean and what form is it in?

trenger is the present‐tense form of the verb trenge, meaning to need. In Norwegian Bokmål you form the present by adding –r to the infinitive, so trenge → trenger.

Why is trenger used here instead of behøver, which also means “to need”?

While both verbs can translate as “need,” trenger is more common and conversational. Behøver is somewhat more formal and often used with an infinitive (e.g. behøver å gjøre noe), whereas trenger can directly take an object (trenger en notatbok).

Why is the indefinite article en used before notatbok, and what gender is this noun?

In Bokmål Norwegian there are two noun genders: common and neuter. Notatbok (‘notebook’) is a common‐gender noun, so it takes the common‐gender indefinite article en (not the neuter et).

Why is notatbok written as one word, not two separate words?

Norwegian often forms compounds by joining two nouns into one word. Notat + bok becomes the compound notatbok (‘notebook’).

What does til mean in til skolen, and why not use for or på?

Here til expresses purpose, roughly for in English (“a notebook for school”). You could say for skolen informally, but til skolen is the standard way to express “intended for school use.” På skolen would mean “at school” (location), not “for school.”

Why is skolen in the definite form (with -en at the end)?

When you talk about school in a general sense—“for school” as a concept—you use the definite form skolen (‘the school’). In Norwegian, definite nouns get a suffix (-en for common gender).

How is the word order in this sentence structured?

This is a main clause following the V2 rule:

1. Subject (Vi)
2. Finite verb (trenger)
3. Object (en notatbok)
4. Adverbial/prepositional phrase (til skolen)

How would you say “We need the notebook for school” if you mean a specific notebook?

If you have a particular notebook in mind, make notatbok definite:
Vi trenger notatboken til skolen.

How do you say it in the plural, “We need notebooks for school”?

Change en notatbok to plural notatbøker (indefinite):
Vi trenger notatbøker til skolen.

Can you also use behøver in this sentence, and if so, how?

Yes, but it sounds more formal. You can say:
Vi behøver en notatbok til skolen.
Here behøver still takes a direct object without an infinitive because you’re needing something (a notebook), not needing to do something.