Questions & Answers about Sokkene tørker raskt på radiatoren.
Why is sokkene used instead of sokker?
In Norwegian you mark definiteness by adding an ending. The indefinite plural of sokk (“sock”) is sokker, and the definite plural is sokkene. Here we talk about specific socks (e.g. the ones you just washed), so you use the definite sokkene.
What does tørker mean, and why does it end in -r?
Tørker is the present‐tense form of å tørke (“to dry”). Most Norwegian verbs that end in -e in the infinitive form simply add -r to make the present tense:
• å tørke → tørker
• å spise → spiser
• å snakke → snakker
Why is raskt used here instead of rask?
Rask is an adjective (“quick”), but when you want to describe how something happens, you need an adverb. In Norwegian many adverbs are formed by adding -t to the adjective:
• rask → raskt (“quickly”)
That’s why you say tørker raskt (“dry quickly”), not tørker rask.
Why do we use på to say “on the radiator”? Could we use i instead?