Learn Hardcore Norwegian: På kiosken ved kinoen selger de smørbrød med ost. - At the kiosk by the cinema they sell sandwiches with cheese.

på here corresponds to English “at” (or sometimes “on”). In Norwegian you often say på kiosken when referring to being “at the kiosk.” English uses “at,” but Norwegian uses på for many locations or establishments.

Why is kiosken in the definite form instead of en kiosk?

When you say kiosken, you mean “the kiosk” (a specific one). In English we’d say “the kiosk” as well. If you said en kiosk, that would mean “a kiosk,” which sounds indefinite. The speaker assumes you know which kiosk (the one by the cinema).

Why is it ved kinoen instead of på kinoen or simply nær kinoen?

ved means “by,” “beside,” or “next to.” So ved kinoen means “by the cinema.” If you said på kinoen, that means “inside the cinema” or “at the cinema” in a different sense (e.g. working at the cinema). nær kinoen means “near the cinema,” which is more general. ved pinpoints it as right next to or attached to.

What role does de play in selger de?

In Norwegian, de (they) is used as a dummy subject when you talk about people in general or staff at a place. Here de refers to whoever works at that kiosk. In English we might say “they sell sandwiches,” meaning “the people there.”

Why is the word order På kiosken ved kinoen selger de… instead of De selger… på kiosken ved kinoen?

Norwegian allows you to start with an adjunct (time, place, etc.) to set the scene. That pushes the verb into second position. So you get [Location] + [Verb] + [Subject]. In English you can do this too (“At the kiosk by the cinema, they sell…”) but you’ll more often say “They sell… at the kiosk….”

What exactly is smørbrød, and is it singular or plural?

smørbrød literally means “butter bread,” but it’s the general word for an open-faced sandwich in Norwegian. Here it’s plural (they sell several sandwiches). The singular would be et smørbrød (“a sandwich”).

Why use med in smørbrød med ost instead of another preposition?

med means “with” in the sense of “accompanied by” or “covered by.” So smørbrød med ost is “sandwiches with cheese.” Using av would sound like “made of cheese,” which doesn’t work here.

Could you say ostesmørbrød instead of smørbrød med ost?

You could, and ostesmørbrød also means “cheese sandwich,” but it’s less common than describing toppings with smørbrød med ost, especially on a menu. ostesmørbrød sometimes implies a grilled cheese, so to avoid confusion they often say smørbrød med ost.