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Questions & Answers about Lysbryteren er ødelagt.
What does lysbryteren mean and why is it written as one word?
lysbryteren is the definite form of the compound noun lysbryter, which means light switch. Norwegian often combines two nouns into one compound: lys (light) + bryter (switch) = lysbryter. The ending -en makes it definite, so lysbryteren means the light switch.
What is the indefinite form of lysbryteren and how do you say a light switch in Norwegian?
The indefinite form is lysbryter. To say a light switch, you use the masculine indefinite article en:
- en lysbryter
Why is er used here instead of a past-tense form?
Norwegian uses er (present tense of å være, to be) with a past participle to express a resulting state—is broken—much like English. You could use a perfect tense to emphasize the action:
- Lysbryteren har blitt ødelagt (the light switch has been broken)
but Lysbryteren er ødelagt simply states its current condition.
What part of speech is ødelagt and where does it come from?
ødelagt is the past participle of the verb å ødelegge (to destroy). Here it functions as an adjective in a predicative position (after er) to mean broken or destroyed.
How would you say the light switches are broken in plural?
You make lysbryter plural and the adjective agrees in number. The definite plural of lysbryter is lysbryterne, and ødelagt takes an -e ending in plural:
- Lysbryterne er ødelagte.
Could you say En lysbryter er ødelagt instead of Lysbryteren er ødelagt?
Yes. En lysbryter er ødelagt means a light switch is broken, referring to any unspecified switch. When you’re talking about a specific known switch, you use lysbryteren.
How do you pronounce ødelagt?
In standard Eastern Norwegian it’s roughly [ˈøːdəˌlɑkt]. Tips:
- ø sounds like the vowel in French peu or German schön
- d between vowels is a soft [d], nearly like the English d in muddy
- In the gt cluster at the end, the g is often unreleased, making it sound like [kt]