Det er vanskelig å sovne uten musikk.

to be

Breakdown of Det er vanskelig å sovne uten musikk.

• å: to
• det: it
• musikken: the music

Questions & Answers about Det er vanskelig å sovne uten musikk.

What does sovne mean in this sentence?

sovne is the infinitive form of the verb å sovne, meaning to fall asleep. It’s not conjugated here; it expresses the general action of falling asleep.

Why is there an å before sovne?

In Norwegian, when you describe the difficulty, ability or intention of doing something, you use the infinitive marker å (like English to). After an adjective such as vanskelig, you need å + infinitive. So vanskelig å sovne = difficult to fall asleep.

Why does the sentence start with Det er? Can’t we just say Vanskelig å sovne uten musikk?

Det er is an impersonal subject construction meaning it is. Norwegian grammatically requires a subject, so Det er fills that slot. In notes or headlines you might drop it, but in normal speech or writing you say Det er vanskelig å sovne uten musikk.

Why is there no article before musikk in uten musikk?