Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Arbeidsplassen min flytter neste år til en rolig by nær kysten. - My workplace is moving next year to a calm town near the coast.

Arbeidsplassen is the definite form of arbeidsplass (workplace), marked by the suffix -en meaning the workplace. In Norwegian you can attach a possessive pronoun after a definite noun: arbeidsplassen min = my workplace. Alternatively, you could say min arbeidsplass (placing min before the noun), but then the noun stays indefinite (arbeidsplass, without -en).

Why is the indefinite article en used before rolig by, and how do you choose between en, ei, and et for Norwegian nouns?

Norwegian nouns belong to grammatical genders: • Common gender nouns take en (e.g., en by, en stol).
• Neuter nouns take et (e.g., et hus, et bord).
• Some feminine nouns can optionally use ei, but most also accept en.
Here, by (town) is a common-gender noun, so you use en: en rolig by.

Why does neste år not have an article or preposition? How do you say “next year” in Norwegian?

In time expressions, neste functions as a determiner meaning next, so you say neste år = next year without adding et or i. Similarly: neste uke (“next week”), neste måned (“next month”). If you need “during next year,” you could say i løpet av neste år.

Why is neste år placed after flytter instead of at the beginning of the sentence?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb (here flytter) must be the second element. Since the subject Arbeidsplassen min is first, the verb comes next and then the time adverbial neste år. To emphasize the time, you could front-load neste år, still keeping the verb second:
Neste år flytter arbeidsplassen min ...

Is flytter here used transitively or intransitively, and what does it mean?

Here flytter is used intransitively: it means “to move” or “to relocate.” The subject (arbeidsplassen min) moves til (to) a new location (en rolig by). If you used flytter transitively, you’d have a direct object: for example, Jeg flytter møblene = I’m moving the furniture.

Why is til used before en rolig by?

til indicates movement toward a destination: flytter til en rolig by = moves to a quiet town. Using i would express location inside something (i en rolig by = “in a quiet town”), and på wouldn’t be used with by in this sense.

Why is the adjective rolig not inflected before by? Shouldn’t it change for gender or number?

Adjectives in Norwegian agree with the noun’s gender and number: • Indefinite singular common-gender nouns take the adjective in its base form: rolig by.
• Indefinite singular neuter nouns add -t: et rolig hus.
• Indefinite plural adds -e: rolige byer.

Why is it nær kysten (“near the coast”) with the definite form kysten, and not nær en kyst?

When talking about a general geographic feature like the coast, Norwegian uses the definite form kysten. Saying nær en kyst (“near a coast”) would imply any unspecified stretch of coastline. For the general idea of “the coast,” you say nær kysten.

Could you use other expressions instead of nær kysten to say “near the coast”?

Yes. Two common alternatives are:
• ved kysten (“by the coast”):
…til en rolig by ved kysten.
• i nærheten av kysten (“in the vicinity of the coast”):
…til en rolig by i nærheten av kysten.

How would you change the word order to emphasize time or place?

Because of V2, you can front-load any element and keep flytter in second position. For time emphasis:
• Neste år flytter arbeidsplassen min til en rolig by nær kysten.
For place emphasis:
• Til en rolig by nær kysten flytter arbeidsplassen min neste år.