Jeg har én venn.

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Breakdown of Jeg har én venn.

• ha: to have
• vennen: the friend
• én: one

Questions & Answers about Jeg har én venn.

Why is én written with an accent?

In Norwegian, the accent on én indicates the numeral “one.” Without the accent, en usually functions as the indefinite article “a/an.” The accent helps you distinguish “I have one friend” (én = number) from “I have a friend” (en = article).

What’s the difference between én and en?

• én (accented) always means the numeral “one.”
• en (unaccented) is the masculine/feminine indefinite article meaning “a” or “an.”
  So jeg har én venn = “I have one friend,” while jeg har en venn = “I have a friend.”

Why didn’t we use ett instead of én?

Norwegian has two grammatical genders for nouns: common (masculine/feminine) and neuter. The numeral “one” agrees with the noun’s gender.

• én (sometimes also written en) is used with common‐gender nouns (like venn, which is common).
• ett is used with neuter nouns (for example ett hus, “one house”).

What part of speech is har, and how is it used?

har is the present-tense form of the verb å ha (“to have”). In this sentence it simply means “have.” Norwegian verbs don’t conjugate for person (I have, you have, he has all use har).