Familien samles i stuen.

the family

Breakdown of Familien samles i stuen.

• i: in
• stuen: the living room
• samles: to gather

Questions & Answers about Familien samles i stuen.

What is the function of the -en ending in familien? Why doesn’t it say familie or en familie?

In Norwegian you form the definite singular of a common‐gender noun by adding -en. So:
• familie = “family” (indefinite)
• familien = “the family” (definite)
Here familien is already definite, so you don’t need a separate article like en.

Why does samles have an -s at the end? Is this a passive construction?

The -s is the so-called s-passive or mediopassive (middle voice). It comes from the verb å samle (“to gather”). In this form it often means “to gather together” rather than “to be gathered by someone.” So Familien samles translates as “The family gathers” or “The family is gathering,” without specifying who does the gathering.

Could we say Familien samler seg i stuen instead? What’s the difference?

Yes. samler seg combines the active verb samle with the reflexive pronoun seg (“themselves”):
• Familien samler seg i stuen.
Both sentences mean “The family gathers in the living room,” but:

• samles = middle voice/passive‐like, no reflexive pronoun needed
• samler seg = active + reflexive pronoun
  They’re interchangeable; samles is just a bit more concise.

Why is stuen in the definite form? When do you use definite nouns after prepositions?