Questions & Answers about Jeg leser en bok midt på natten.
Why is the noun bok preceded by en? What gender is bok in Norwegian?
In Norwegian Bokmål there are two grammatical genders: common (utrum) and neuter. bok is a common-gender noun, so its indefinite article is en. You will also see the feminine form ei bok in some contexts, but most learners and most speakers use en bok for “a book.”
Why is the verb leser in the present tense? Doesn’t Norwegian have a continuous (-ing) form like English?
Norwegian does not distinguish between simple and continuous aspects with different verb forms. The present tense (her leser) covers both “I read” and “I am reading.” Context (for example “midt på natten”) tells you that it’s happening right now.
What does midt på natten literally mean? Why not say i midten av natten?
Literally midt på natten is “middle on the night,” but idiomatically it means “in the middle of the night.” Although you could technically say i midten av natten, most Norwegians prefer the fixed phrase midt på plus a definite time (morgen, dag, natt).
Why is the preposition på used in midt på natten, instead of i or av?