Breakdown of Resepsjonisten hjelper oss med kofferten.
med
with
oss
us
hjelpe
to help
kofferten
the suitcase
Questions & Answers about Resepsjonisten hjelper oss med kofferten.
What does the -en ending in resepsjonisten and kofferten indicate?
The -en suffix marks the definite singular form of a common‐gender noun in Norwegian. So resepsjonist (“a receptionist”) becomes resepsjonisten (“the receptionist”), and koffert (“a suitcase”) becomes kofferten (“the suitcase”).
Why is oss used instead of vi?
Vi is the subject form (“we”), but here “us” is the object of the verb hjelper (“helps”). The object form of “we” is oss, so you say hjelper oss (“helps us”).
What role does the preposition med play after hjelper?
In Norwegian the verb hjelpe (“to help”) takes a prepositional complement introduced by med: the pattern is hjelpe noen med noe (“to help someone with something”). Here med kofferten tells you what the help is about.
Why is the word order Resepsjonisten hjelper oss med kofferten and not something else?
Norwegian main clauses follow S-V-O-adverbial order (subject – verb – object – any prepositional/adverbial phrase). You cannot move med kofferten before the verb, and personal pronouns (like oss) must follow the verb.
How would you express this sentence in the past tense?