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Questions & Answers about Bussen er gratis i dag.
What does the suffix -en in bussen indicate, and how do you form the indefinite?
The -en ending marks the definite singular for common-gender (utrum) nouns in Bokmål. Here, buss (“a bus”) + -en = bussen (“the bus”). To say “a bus,” you use the indefinite article en before the noun: en buss.
What gender is the noun buss, and how do you recognize it?
Buss is common gender (utrum) in Bokmål. Common-gender nouns take en as the indefinite article (en buss) and -en as the definite suffix (bussen). Neuter nouns, by contrast, would use et/-et.
Why doesn’t the adjective gratis get an -e or any other ending here?
- When adjectives follow er (“is”), they’re used predicatively and remain uninflected.
- Gratis is an indeclinable adjective—it never changes form for gender, number, or definiteness.
So bussen er gratis stays the same regardless of what it describes.
Where do you normally place a time expression like i dag, and can you move it?
In a neutral S-V-O sentence, adverbial phrases such as i dag (“today”) often come after the verb (and object, if any). That’s why Bussen er gratis i dag is standard. You can front i dag, though, using V2 word order:
“I dag er bussen gratis.”
This simply shifts focus onto today.
Is Bussen i dag er gratis also correct, and does it change the nuance?
Yes, it’s grammatical. Fronting bussen i dag highlights “the bus today” as a unit (perhaps contrasted with another day). It’s less neutral but fine for emphasis.
How do you turn this statement into a yes/no question, e.g. “Is the bus free today?”
Invert the subject and verb (the V2 rule for questions):
“Er bussen gratis i dag?”
How is bussen er gratis i dag pronounced?
In Eastern Bokmål pronunciation (approximate IPA):
/ˈbɵ.sən ɛr ˈɡrɑː.tɪs i ˈdɑːɡ/
• u in bus: a front rounded vowel [ɵ] (like “ue” in French “que”).
• r: often an alveolar trill [r].
• a in dag: open [ɑː].
Stress falls on the first syllable of bussen and gratis.
Why is the verb er used here, and what’s its infinitive form?
Er is the present-tense form of å være (“to be”), functioning exactly like English is. Its infinitive is å være. You use er whenever you want to say “is/am/are” in Norwegian.