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Pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet.

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

Breakdown of Pilleesken ligger på skrivebordet.

på
on
ligge
to lie
skrivebordet
the desk
pilleesken
the pill box

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.

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