Han trykker på knappen.

He presses the button.

Breakdown of Han trykker på knappen.

• han: he
• på: on
• knappen: the button
• trykke: to press

Questions & Answers about Han trykker på knappen.

Why is there a på after trykker?

In Norwegian the verb trykke needs the preposition på when you “press on” something. You can treat trykke på as a single unit (a phrasal verb) meaning to press.
• In English you say press a button, but in Norwegian you always say trykker på knappen.
• Never say trykker knappen—that is ungrammatical.
• You’ll see the same pattern with other verbs: vente på (wait for), kikke på (take a look at), satse på (rely on).

What form is knappen and why is it in the definite form?

knappen is the definite singular of knapp (button). Norwegian nouns have these forms:
• Indefinite singular: en knapp
• Definite singular: knappen
Here you’re referring to a specific, known button—hence the definite form knappen.

How would you say He presses a button if you didn’t mean a specific one?

Use the indefinite form en knapp:
Han trykker på en knapp.
This means “He presses a button” (any button), whereas Han trykker på knappen means “He presses the (specific) button.”

How do you conjugate trykke in other tenses and persons?

trykke is a weak (regular) verb. Here are key forms:
• Present: jeg trykker, du trykker, han/hun trykker, vi trykker, dere trykker, de trykker
• Simple past: jeg trykket, … de trykket
• Present perfect: har trykket
• Future: vil trykke or skal trykke

How is trykker pronounced in Norwegian?

IPA: /ˈtrykːər/
Tips:
• y is like the French u in lune (a front rounded vowel).
• kk signals a long or doubled /k/ sound.
• The ending -er sounds like [ər], with a quick, reduced vowel.

What is the basic word order here, and what happens if you start with på knappen?

Basic word order in a main clause is Subject–Verb–Object/Complement. Here:
Han (subject) trykker (verb) på knappen (object).
If you move på knappen to the front, you must invert verb and subject (the V2 rule):
På knappen trykker han.