Breakdown of Kunstneren signerer postkort og deler ut små frimerker med motivene sine.
liten
small
med
with
og
and
sin
his
kunstneren
the artist
signere
to sign
postkortet
the postcard
dele ut
to hand out
frimerket
the stamp
motivet
the motif
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Questions & Answers about Kunstneren signerer postkort og deler ut små frimerker med motivene sine.
What does Kunstneren mean, and why does it end with -en?
Kunstneren translates to the artist. In Norwegian, the definite article is attached as a suffix. kunstner means artist, and by adding -en (common gender singular), you get kunstneren = the artist.
What does signerer mean, and why does it end with -er?
signerer is the present tense of å signere (to sign). Most Norwegian verbs form the present tense by adding -er to the infinitive stem, and this ending stays the same for all persons:
• jeg signerer
• du signerer
• han signerer
Why is there no article before postkort and små frimerker?
Both postkort and små frimerker are in the indefinite plural. In Norwegian, indefinite plural nouns do not take an article. If you meant a single postcard or stamp, you would say et postkort or et frimerke, but here it’s postcards and (small) stamps in general.
What does deler ut mean, and why is it written as two words?
deler ut is the present tense of the separable verb å dele ut, meaning to hand out or to distribute. When conjugated in present tense, the verb splits into its stem (dele) and the prefix (ut):
• vi deler ut
• hun delte ut
• de har delt ut
How do you form the plural of frimerke, and why is it frimerker?
frimerke is a neuter noun ending in -e. Most neuter nouns that end in -e form their indefinite plural by adding -r. Hence, frimerke → frimerker (stamps).
Why doesn’t postkort change in the plural form?
Some Norwegian nouns are indeclinable in the plural and have the same form for singular and plural. postkort is one of those. Its indefinite singular and plural are both postkort, so context tells you whether it means “a postcard” or “postcards.”
What does motivene sine mean, and why do we use sine instead of hans?
motivene is the definite plural of motiv (motif), so motivene = the motifs. sine is the reflexive possessive pronoun meaning his own, referring back to the subject (kunstneren). You use sine when the possessor is the same as the subject of the clause. Using hans (his) could introduce ambiguity (it might refer to someone else).
Why does sine come after motivene, and why is motivene in the definite form?
In Norwegian, possessive pronouns follow the noun they modify, so you say motivene sine, not sine motivene. And motivene is in the definite form (marked by -ene) because it refers to specific motifs (the particular designs on the stamps), not motifs in general.