Breakdown of Kniven ligger på bordet, men vi trenger den ikke til kaken.
vi
we
trenge
to need
men
but
den
it
på
on
ikke
not
bordet
the table
til
for
kaken
the cake
kniven
the knife
ligge
to lie
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Questions & Answers about Kniven ligger på bordet, men vi trenger den ikke til kaken.
Why is Kniven in the definite form instead of just kniv?
In Norwegian you form the definite article by adding a suffix to the noun. Kniv (a knife) becomes kniven (the knife). Here the speaker and listener both know which knife is meant, so the definite form is used.
Why does the sentence use ligger instead of er to show location?
Norwegian often uses specific verbs to describe how something is positioned:
- ligger (lies) for objects lying horizontally
- står (stands) for things vertical
- sitter (sits) for things attached or seated
Using ligger implies the knife is lying flat on the surface.
Why is there a comma before men?
When men (but) connects two independent clauses in Norwegian, you place a comma before it, just like in English. Here you have:
Clause 1: Kniven ligger på bordet
Clause 2: vi trenger den ikke til kaken
Why is bordet definite? Could it just be bord?
Bordet is the definite form of bord (a table). The speaker is referring to a specific table (the one in front of them), so they say bordet (“the table”).
Why is the object pronoun den used instead of det?
Pronouns in Norwegian agree in gender with their nouns. Kniv is a common-gender noun (en-word), so its corresponding pronoun is den. If the noun were in neuter gender (et-word), you’d use det.
Why is ikke placed after den in trenger den ikke?
In main clauses with a modal or lexical verb, the negation ikke normally follows the object (or other direct complements). So the order is: verb – object pronoun – ikke.
What does til kaken mean? Why is til used here?
Til can express purpose or relation, similar to English “for.” So til kaken means “for the cake.” The phrase tells us the knife is not needed in connection with the cake (for cutting or serving it).
Could you rephrase vi trenger den ikke til kaken to mention making the cake?
Yes. If you want to say “we don’t need it to make the cake,” you’d use til å + infinitive, e.g.:
Vi trenger den ikke til å lage kaken.
But the original til kaken simply means “for the cake” (such as for cutting or eating it).