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Questions & Answers about Snøen smelter om dagen.
Why is snøen in the definite form? Why not just snø smelter om dagen?
Norwegian often uses the definite form when referring to something known or already introduced. Here, snøen (“the snow”) refers to snow that’s clearly covering the ground. Saying snø smelter om dagen would sound unnatural because it treats snow as an undefined substance.
What does om dagen mean exactly? Does it mean “during the day” or “these days”?
om dagen can mean both “during the day” (as opposed to night) and “these days” / “nowadays,” depending on context. In our sentence it likely means “these days,” emphasizing a general ongoing process. If you stress daylight hours specifically, it still works as “during the day.”
What’s the difference between om dagen and på dagen?
Use om dagen for repeated actions or states in daytime (e.g., Vi jobber om dagen = “We work by day”). på dagen usually refers to a specific calendar date or emphasizes “the very day” of an event (e.g., På dagen for bryllupet = “On the day of the wedding”).
Why is smelter in the simple present? Is there a continuous tense in Norwegian?
Norwegian lacks a distinct continuous tense; the simple present (e.g., smelter) covers both habitual and ongoing actions. To highlight the process, you can use holder på å smelte: Snøen holder på å smelte om dagen (“The snow is melting these days”).
Can I move om dagen to the beginning of the sentence? For example: Om dagen smelter snøen?
Yes. Norwegian allows inversion when an adverbial comes first. So Om dagen smelter snøen is correct, though the default Subject-Verb-Adverb order (Snøen smelter om dagen) is more common in spoken language.
Could I say det smelter instead of snøen smelter?
You can use det smelter (“it melts”), but that’s impersonal and vague. If you want to specify that it’s the snow that’s melting, use snøen smelter.
Is snø a masculine or feminine noun, and does that affect the form snøen?
snø is utrum (common gender) in standard Norwegian, but the definite form is always snøen in Bokmål. In Nynorsk you might see snøa. Gender doesn’t change the definite ending here.