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Frukten er søt.

Frukten er søt.
The fruit is sweet.
FromLesson 11inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Frukten er søt.

være
to be
søt
sweet
frukten
the fruit

Questions & Answers about Frukten er søt.

Why does frukten end with -en?
In Norwegian Bokmål, you form the definite singular of a common-gender noun by adding -en to the end. So frukt (fruit) becomes frukten (the fruit).
Why isn't there a separate word for the like in English?
English uses a separate definite article the, but Norwegian attaches the article as a suffix to the noun. Instead of saying the frukt, you say frukten.
What is the gender of frukt?
Historically feminine, but in modern Bokmål frukt is treated as common gender (a merger of masculine and feminine). Common-gender nouns take en in the indefinite singular (en frukt) and -en in the definite singular (frukten).
What does er mean here?
Er is the present tense, third-person singular form of å være (to be). So frukten er søt literally means “the fruit is sweet.”
Why is søt not søtt or søte?

Adjectives in Norwegian agree with the gender, number, and position (attributive vs. predicative) of the noun:

  • Predicative (after er):
    • common-gender singular → søt
    • neuter singular → søtt
    • plural → søte
    Since frukten is common-gender singular and søt is in predicative position, you use søt.
Why doesn’t the adjective have an -e ending here?

The -e ending appears when an adjective is attributive (i.e., placed directly before) a definite noun.
Example: den søte frukten (the sweet fruit).
But in frukten er søt, søt is predicative (after the verb) and follows the predicative-agreement rules (common-singular → no -e).

How do I turn Frukten er søt into a question?

Invert the subject and verb:
Er frukten søt?
This means “Is the fruit sweet?”

How would I say “A fruit is sweet”?

Use the indefinite article en for common gender:
En frukt er søt.
Here en = “a,” frukt remains indefinite, and søt stays in predicative form.

How do I say “The fruits are sweet”?

Make both the noun and adjective plural definite:
Fruktene er søte.

  • frukt → fruktene (pl. definite)
  • søt → søte (plural predicative)
How do I say “This fruit is sweet”?

Use the demonstrative denne with the definite noun form:
Denne frukten er søt.
Literally: “This-female common fruit is sweet.”

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