Questions & Answers about Regnet kan ødelegge planene våre.
Why is Regnet used here rather than the impersonal Det regner?
Regnet is the noun “the rain” acting as the subject of the sentence. Det regner is an impersonal weather expression meaning “it is raining.” If you said Det regner kan ødelegge planene våre, it wouldn’t make sense—Det regner can’t combine with kan ødelegge. Instead you use the noun regnet (“the rain”) so you can say Regnet kan ødelegge planene våre (“The rain can ruin our plans”).
What does the -et ending in Regnet indicate?
Why is there no å before ødelegge?
When you use a modal verb like kan, the following verb appears in the bare infinitive (without å). So you have kan ødelegge just as in English you say “can ruin,” not “can to ruin.”
Why is the finite verb kan in second position, not ødelegge?
Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here kan) must occupy the second position. Ødelegge is a non-finite infinitive and therefore comes after the object.