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Breakdown of Sykehuset ber alle pasienter beholde sin kvittering for medisinen.
for
for
beholde
to keep
alle
all
kvitteringen
the receipt
sykehuset
the hospital
be
to ask
pasienten
the patient
sin
their
medisinen
the medicine
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Questions & Answers about Sykehuset ber alle pasienter beholde sin kvittering for medisinen.
What does Sykehuset mean, and why is there an -et suffix?
Sykehus means hospital. The suffix -et is the neuter definite singular ending in Norwegian, so Sykehuset translates as “the hospital.”
What does ber mean here, and how is it different from spørre?
å be noen om noe means to ask someone to do something (to request or urge an action). Here Sykehuset ber = “the hospital asks/requests.”
By contrast, å spørre noen om noe means to ask someone a question, e.g. å spørre en lege om råd = “to ask a doctor for advice.”
Why isn’t there an å in front of beholde?
After certain verbs (called catenative verbs) such as be, la, få and modal verbs, you use a bare infinitive without å. So you say ber … beholde rather than ber … å beholde.
How does sin work here? Could we use hans, hennes, or deres instead?
sin is a reflexive possessive pronoun that refers back to the subject—in this case alle pasienter. It means “their own.” You wouldn’t use hans or hennes because those refer to a specific third person (he/she), and deres can be ambiguous or formal. sin kvittering makes it clear each patient keeps his or her own receipt.
Why is alle pasienter in the indefinite form and not alle pasientene?
When alle (all) modifies a plural noun, that noun normally stays in the indefinite form: alle pasienter = “all patients.” If you said alle pasientene, it would emphasize a specific, previously defined group: “all the patients.”
Why is medisinen in the definite form?
medisinen means “the medicine.” It’s in the definite form because you’re referring to a specific medicine that the patients have received. If you were speaking of medicine in general, you’d say medisin.
What does kvittering mean, and what is its gender?
kvittering means receipt. It’s a feminine noun (indefinite ei kvittering, definite kvitteringen). When you pair it with a possessive pronoun like sin, you omit the article: sin kvittering = “their receipt.”
Why is it kvittering for medisinen and not kvittering på medisinen?
In Norwegian the standard collocation is kvittering for noe (“receipt for something”). The preposition for denotes the purpose or relation: kvittering for medisinen = “receipt for the medicine.”