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De store byene er vakre.

De store byene er vakre.
The big cities are beautiful.
FromLesson 22inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of De store byene er vakre.

være
to be
stor
big
vakker
beautiful
byen
the city
de
the
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Questions & Answers about De store byene er vakre.

What does De mean in this sentence?
Here, De is the definite plural article, equivalent to the in English (not the pronoun they).
Why is the adjective store not stor?
Adjectives in Norwegian change with number and definiteness. stor is singular indefinite; store is used for plural or definite nouns. Since byene is plural definite, the adjective takes -e.
Why is the noun byene spelled with -ene instead of -er?
byer is the indefinite plural of by (city), meaning cities. To make it definite plural (the cities), you add -ene, resulting in byene.
Why do we use both De and the suffix -ene on byene?
With an attributive adjective (like store) modifying a definite noun, Norwegian uses a preposed article (De for plural) plus the definite noun suffix (-ene). Together they mark the big cities.
Why is vakre used instead of vakker?
Adjectives in predicative position (after er) use their plural form when the subject is plural. vakker is singular; vakre is the plural form meaning beautiful.
Could you say Store byene er vakre without De?
No. When an attributive adjective precedes a definite noun, you must include the article. Store byene without De is ungrammatical in standard Norwegian.
How would you say Big cities are beautiful in the indefinite?
Remove the definite markers: Store byer er vakre.
What is the gender of by in Bokmål?
In Bokmål, by is masculine, so singular indefinite is en by. (In Nynorsk it can be feminine: ei by.)