Fjernsynets lyd er dårlig.

to be

Breakdown of Fjernsynets lyd er dårlig.

• lyden: the sound
• dårlig: bad
• fjernsynets: television’s

Questions & Answers about Fjernsynets lyd er dårlig.

What does fjernsynets mean and how is the genitive formed in Norwegian?

fjernsynets is the genitive form of fjernsyn (television). You first add -et to make fjernsynet (the television) and then attach -s to indicate possession, yielding fjernsynets (“the television’s”).

Why doesn’t lyd have a definite article like -en?

In a genitive construction, the -s on the possessor makes the entire noun phrase definite. You therefore leave the possessed noun bare. So fjernsynets lyd literally means “the television’s sound” without adding -en on lyd.

Could I use an alternative construction like lyden til fjernsynet?

Yes. lyden til fjernsynet er dårlig is perfectly correct. Here you use lyden (“the sound” with -en) and til (“to/of”) to introduce the possessor fjernsynet.

Why isn’t there a preposition like på (on) as in English “the sound on the TV”?

Norwegian often uses the genitive -s to show possession, so på isn’t needed. If you prefer, you can say lyden på fjernsynet er dårlig, which literally means “the sound on the television is bad.”

What part of speech is dårlig here, and why isn’t it inflected?