Questions & Answers about Jeg venter på pasientens svar.
Why do we need the preposition på after venter, instead of just venter pasientens svar?
In Norwegian, the verb vente meaning “to wait for” always requires på to introduce the thing you’re waiting for. So the pattern is vente på + object. Without på, the sentence is incomplete.
Why is pasientens used here, and why does it have an -s at the end?
Norwegian forms the possessive (genitive) by adding -s to the noun, just like English “patient’s.” So pasientens svar literally means “the patient’s answer.”
Why isn’t there an article before pasientens svar? Shouldn’t it be det pasientens svar or something similar?
When you use a possessive like pasientens, the noun phrase is already definite. You don’t need an extra article—the -s possessive marker makes it “the patient’s answer” automatically.
Could I also say svaret fra pasienten instead of pasientens svar?
Yes. Svaret fra pasienten (“the answer from the patient”) is equally correct. It’s just another way to show possession, using fra (“from”) instead of the genitive -s.