Banken forklarer økonomien vår med en enkel graf.

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Questions & Answers about Banken forklarer økonomien vår med en enkel graf.

What is the infinitive form of forklarer and what does it mean?
The verb forklarer comes from the infinitive forklare, which means to explain. In Norwegian, the present tense for all persons is formed by adding -er to the stem, so forklare → forklarer.
Why is økonomi spelled økonomien here?

Norwegian marks the definite singular by adding a suffix to the noun. økonomi is a common-gender noun (en-word).

  • Indefinite: en økonomi (an economy)
  • Definite: økonomien (the economy)

So økonomien literally means the economy.

Why is the possessive vår placed after økonomien instead of before, like in English?

In Norwegian you can put the possessive either before or after the noun:

  • Post-nominal (very common): økonomien vår (the economy of ours)
  • Pre-nominal: vår økonomi (our economy)

Both are correct. The post-nominal form often sounds more natural in everyday speech, while pre-nominal can feel slightly more formal.

Why is the adjective enkel not enkelt or enkle?

Adjectives agree with the gender and number of their noun in Norwegian:

  • Common gender singular (en-word): base form enkelen enkel graf
  • Neuter singular (et-word): add -t, e.g., et enkelt hus
  • Plural: add -e, e.g., enkle spørsmål

Since graf is a singular common-gender noun, you use enkel.

What does the preposition med indicate in this sentence?
med means with and introduces the instrument or means. So med en enkel graf tells us how the bank explains the economy—with a simple graph.
Can we move med en enkel graf to another position, for example Banken forklarer med en enkel graf økonomien vår?

Yes, Norwegian has flexible word order, but keeping the verb and its direct object together is more natural.

  • Preferred: Banken forklarer økonomien vår med en enkel graf
  • Possible but less common: Banken forklarer med en enkel graf økonomien vår
How would the sentence look if we wanted to say a bank instead of the bank?

You replace the definite noun banken with the indefinite en bank:
En bank forklarer økonomien vår med en enkel graf
Now it refers to any bank rather than a specific one.

How do you say with the simple graph instead of with a simple graph?

Make both the adjective and the noun definite:
med den enkle grafen
Here den is the definite article for a common-gender singular noun, enkel takes an -e in the definite form, and graf gets the suffix -en.