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Pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet.

Pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet.
The pill box is on the desk.
FromLesson 17inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet.

på
on
ligge
to lie
skrivebordet
the desk
pilleesken
the pill box
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Questions & Answers about Pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet.

Why is pilleesken written as one word instead of two separate words like “pille esken”?
In Norwegian, compound nouns are normally written as a single word. Here pilleesken combines pille (pill) + eske (box) and then adds the definite singular suffix -en to the whole compound. You never split it with a space.
Why don’t we have a separate word for the in front of pilleesken and skrivebordet?

Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix rather than a separate article.
• pilleesken = pill box + -en (the)
• skrivebordet = desk + -et (the)
So you don’t need den/the or det/the before the noun.

What’s the function of the verb ligger here? Couldn’t you just use er (is)?

Ligger is the present tense of å ligge (to lie). For location, Norwegians often prefer posture/location verbs like:
• ligge (to lie)
• stå (to stand)
• sitte (to sit)
instead of the more generic er (is).
So pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet literally means “the pill box lies on the desk.”

Why does pilleesken have a double e (“ee”)? Can you drop one?
When the first element ends in e (pille) and the second begins with e (eske), Norwegian orthography preserves both vowels. You write pille + eske = pilleeske, then add -n for the definite form: pilleesken. You do not drop one of the e’s.
What gender are eske and skrivebord, and how do you know from the endings?

• Eske is feminine:
– Indefinite: ei eske
– Definite: esken (-en suffix)
• Skrivebord is neuter:
– Indefinite: et skrivebord
– Definite: skrivebordet (-et suffix)
In compounds, the head’s gender and its suffix carry over: pilleesken is still feminine.

Why is the preposition på used here? Would you ever use i?

På means “on” and is used for surfaces (tables, desks, shelves):
– ligge på bordet = lie on the table
I means “in” and is used for enclosed spaces:
– ligge i skuffen = lie in the drawer
So på skrivebordet correctly conveys “on the desk.”

How would you express “A pill box lies on a desk” in indefinite form?

You need the indefinite article before the noun and remove the definite suffixes:
– Ei pilleeske ligger på et skrivebord.
Here ei (fem) pilleeske, and et (neut) skrivebord are both indefinite.