Breakdown of Tom bærer sin nye koffert til resepsjonen.
Tom
Tom
til
to
ny
new
bære
to carry
sin
his
kofferten
the suitcase
resepsjonen
the reception
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Questions & Answers about Tom bærer sin nye koffert til resepsjonen.
What does bærer mean, and how is this verb conjugated?
Bærer is the present tense of å bære, which means “to carry.” In Bokmål, you form the present by adding -r to the infinitive:
• Infinitive: å bære
• Present: bærer
• Past: bar
• Perfect: har båret
Why is sin used instead of hans?
In Norwegian, sin is a reflexive possessive pronoun referring back to the subject (Tom). It means “his own.” If you used hans, it would sound like you’re talking about someone else’s suitcase, not Tom’s.
Why is ny written as nye with an -e ending?
When an adjective follows a determiner (here sin), it takes the weak inflection -e in all genders and numbers. That’s why ny becomes nye:
• sin ny bil → sin nye bil
• en ny bil → en ny bil (no determiner ahead)
What gender and form is koffert, and how does that affect the sentence?
Koffert is a common-gender noun (an en-word). In indefinite singular it has no article or suffix. Here sin acts as the determiner, so the noun stays koffert, and the adjective shows weak inflection (nye koffert).
Why does resepsjonen have -en at the end, and why isn’t there a separate word for “the”?
Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun. Resepsjon (indefinite) + -en (definite common gender) = resepsjonen, meaning “the reception.” There is no separate definite article as in English.
What does til mean here, and why is it used?
Til means “to” or “toward.” It introduces the destination of the action: Tom carries his new suitcase to the reception.
What is the word order in this sentence, and are there any inversion rules to watch out for?
The sentence follows the basic Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order. In Norwegian Bokmål the finite verb still occupies the second position, so you only invert subject and verb if another element (like a time expression) starts the sentence.
If Tom were carrying more than one suitcase, would sin nye koffert change?
Yes. For plural, the possessive stays sin, but noun and adjective become plural: sine nye kofferter (“his own new suitcases”).