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Questions & Answers about Det er ubehagelig varmt i dag.
What does Det er mean here and why use det?
Det er translates as it is. Norwegian often uses det as a dummy subject when talking about weather or general conditions—much like English “it” in “it’s raining.”
Why is varmt spelled with -t at the end?
Adjectives in Norwegian agree in gender and number when used predicatively. Here the implicit subject det is neuter singular, so varm takes the neuter ending -t, giving varmt.
What role does ubehagelig play here: adjective or adverb?
Although ubehagelig is formally an adjective meaning unpleasant, here it modifies another adjective (varmt) and thus functions adverbially—equivalent to English “uncomfortably.”
What does the prefix u- mean in ubehagelig?
The prefix u- is the Norwegian equivalent of English un-, used to create the opposite meaning. So behagelig means pleasant, and ubehagelig means unpleasant or uncomfortably when used adverbially.
Why is i dag written as two words instead of one?
In modern Norwegian Bokmål, today is expressed as i (in) + dag (day). Writing idag as one word is considered outdated or informal in Bokmål.
Why isn’t i dag capitalized even though it appears at the end of the sentence?
In Norwegian, only proper nouns and the first word of a sentence are capitalized. dag (day) is a common noun, so i dag remains lowercase.
Can I place i dag at the beginning of the sentence, and if so, what changes?
Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 word‐order rule. If you start with a time expression, the finite verb must come second:
I dag er det ubehagelig varmt.
How would I ask “How hot is it today?” in Norwegian?
You can say: Hvor varmt er det i dag?
- Hvor = how
- varmt = hot (neuter form matching det)
- er det = is it
- i dag = today