Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Den unge kjendisen drikker kaffe på torget og hilser høflig på fotgjengere. - The young celebrity drinks coffee on the square and politely greets pedestrians.

In Norwegian, a definite noun phrase with an adjective uses two markers of definiteness: – A separate definite article (den for common gender, det for neuter).
– The noun still takes its definite suffix (-en in this case: kjendisen).
So den unge kjendisen literally carries definiteness twice and means the young celebrity. Without den you’d miss one marker; without -en the noun would stay indefinite.

Why does ung become unge here? I thought adjectives only got -t in neuter.

Norwegian adjectives follow different patterns: – Strong (no ending) after an indefinite article: en ung mann = a young man.
– Weak (-e) in the definite form: den unge mannen = the young man.
Since den unge kjendisen is definite (it has den and -en), the adjective takes its weak form unge.

Is kjendisen just the definite form of kjendis? How do you form it?

Yes. kjendis is a common-gender noun. In the indefinite singular it’s kjendis; in the definite singular you add -en, giving kjendisen. When an adjective precedes it, you also use den as a separate article.

How does drikker translate? Is it drinks or is drinking?

Norwegian has a single present tense form. The ending -r covers both simple present and continuous:
drikker can mean drinks or is drinking, depending on context. In our sentence drikker kaffe could be drinks coffee or is drinking coffee.

Do Norwegian verbs change according to the subject like in English (I drink, he drinks)?

No. Norwegian verbs have one present tense form for all persons. You simply add -r:
jeg drikker, du drikker, han drikker, vi drikker, dere drikker, de drikker.

Why isn’t there an article before kaffe? Can I say en kaffe?

kaffe is usually an uncountable mass noun (like coffee in English), so no article is used when talking about drinking it in general: drikker kaffe = drinks coffee.
If you want to emphasize a single cup, you can say drikker en kaffe or better drikker en kopp kaffe = drinks a cup of coffee.

Why is it på torget and not i torget or ved torget?

Norwegian uses på for open public areas or surfaces (squares, markets, beaches):
på torget = at the square
Use i for enclosed spaces (i rommet = in the room) and ved for “by/next to” something.

What does hilser høflig på fotgjengere mean? Why does hilse need på?

– hilse på is a verb+preposition meaning to greet someone. You always greet på someone: hilser på ham = greet him.
– høflig means polite and here functions as an adverb: politely. Norwegian often uses adjective forms unchanged as adverbs.
So hilser høflig på fotgjengere = politely greets pedestrians.

Why is it fotgjengere and not fotgjengerne? When do I use the definite plural?

– fotgjengere is the indefinite plural: pedestrians in general.
– To speak about a specific group, use the definite plural with -ne and usually the article de:
de fotgjengerne = the pedestrians.