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Telefonen er nyttig.

Telefonen er nyttig.
The phone is useful.
FromLesson 10inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Telefonen er nyttig.

være
to be
nyttig
useful
telefonen
the phone
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Questions & Answers about Telefonen er nyttig.

Why is telefonen written as one word instead of saying the phone?

In Norwegian Bokmål the definite article is not a separate word but a suffix on the noun.

  • telefon = “phone” (indefinite)
  • telefonen = “the phone” (definite, with -en suffix)
What gender is telefon, and how do I recognize it?

Telefon is a common-gender noun (sometimes called masculine/feminine). You know this because it uses en in front in the indefinite: en telefon (“a phone”). Common-gender nouns form the definite singular with -en.

Why isn’t the adjective nyttig inflected as nyttige, since telefonen is definite?

Here nyttig is a predicative adjective (it comes after the linking verb er). Predicative adjectives stay in their basic (indefinite) form and do not take -e for definiteness or number.

  • Predicative: Telefonen er nyttig.
  • Attributive (before a noun, definite): den nyttige telefonen.
What does nyttig mean, and how can I use it?

Nyttig means useful or helpful. You can use it:

  • Predicatively: Dette verktøyet er nyttig. (“This tool is useful.”)
  • Attributively: et nyttig verktøy (“a useful tool”)
How do I say phones are useful in Norwegian?

The indefinite plural of telefon is telefoner. In predicative position, the adjective takes -e in the plural:
Telefoner er nyttige.
(“Phones are useful.”)

Can I say en nyttig telefon, and how is that different from telefonen er nyttig?

Yes.

  • en nyttig telefon = “a useful phone” (indefinite, attributive use of the adjective)
  • telefonen er nyttig = “the phone is useful” (definite subject, predicative adjective)
Why don’t we say telefonen er en nyttig?

Adjectives don’t need an article before them in predicative position. If you said telefonen er en nyttig, it would mean “the phone is a useful [one]” but is awkward and rarely used in Norwegian. Stick to telefonen er nyttig.

What is the standard word order in Telefonen er nyttig?

Norwegian main clauses follow Subject–Verb–Object (SVO). Here:
Subject: Telefonen
Verb (linking): er
Adjective complement: nyttig

Can you summarize the indefinite and definite forms of telefon with nyttig?

Indefinite singular:

  • Noun: en telefon
  • Attributive: en nyttig telefon
    Definite singular:
  • Noun: telefonen
  • Predicative: telefonen er nyttig
  • Attributive: den nyttige telefonen
    Indefinite plural:
  • Noun: telefoner
  • Predicative: telefoner er nyttige
  • Attributive: nyttige telefoner
How is Telefonen er nyttig pronounced?

Nearby phonetic guide (Bokmål, standard eastern dialect):
/teˈleːfɔnən ær ˈnʏtːɪg/

  • Stress on the second syllable of telefonen
  • The g in nyttig is soft, almost like a light “y” at the end.