Breakdown of Jeg legger genseren på radiatoren for å tørke den.
jeg
I
å
to
den
it
på
on
legge
to put
for
in order to
genseren
the sweater
tørke
to dry
radiatoren
the radiator
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Questions & Answers about Jeg legger genseren på radiatoren for å tørke den.
Why do we use legger here, and what is its tense and meaning?
Legger is the present tense form of the verb å legge, which means “to lay” or “to put.” In this sentence, legger conveys “I put” or “I am putting,” indicating that you are placing the sweater on the radiator right now or as a general habit.
Why is genseren in the definite form, and how do you form that in Norwegian?
Genseren means “the sweater.” In Norwegian, you add the article as a suffix for definite nouns. For masculine/feminine words like en genser, you form the definite by adding -en, giving genseren (“the sweater”).
Why do we say på radiatoren? Could we use a different preposition?
På means “on” and shows that the sweater is placed directly on top of the radiator. You could not use i (in) or under (under) here, because those would change the meaning. If you wanted “over,” you would say over radiatoren, but that implies hanging above without touching it.
Why do we include for å before tørke? What does that structure express?
The phrase for å introduces a purpose clause, equivalent to English “in order to” or simply “to.” Here, for å tørke den literally means “in order to dry it.” Without for, you cannot form a purpose clause this way in Norwegian.
What does den refer to, and why is it placed at the end?
Den is a pronoun referring back to genseren (the sweater), which is masculine/feminine and takes den in the singular. In Norwegian, object pronouns typically follow the infinitive verb, so in for å tørke den, den comes right after tørke.
Could we say Jeg legger den på radiatoren for å tørke genseren instead?
It’s grammatically possible but stylistically awkward, because you’d introduce den (the pronoun) before you’ve mentioned genseren. Native speakers prefer to state the noun first and then refer back to it with den, as in the original sentence.
How would you turn this into a question—“Am I putting the sweater on the radiator to dry it?”
You invert the subject and verb: Legger jeg genseren på radiatoren for å tørke den? Notice the same word order for the purpose clause stays at the end.
Can the purpose clause come first? For example, For å tørke den legger jeg genseren på radiatoren?
Yes. You can front the purpose clause for emphasis: For å tørke den legger jeg genseren på radiatoren. The meaning stays the same, though native speakers more often leave purpose clauses at the end.