Breakdown of Barn lærer å vente til trafikklyset viser grønt.
å
to
barnet
the child
lære
to learn
vente
to wait
Questions & Answers about Barn lærer å vente til trafikklyset viser grønt.
Why is there an å before vente?
In Norwegian, å is the infinitive marker, equivalent to English “to.” Whenever you attach a verb directly to another verb that governs it (like lærer “learns”), you need å + infinitive. Here lærer å vente literally means “learns to wait.”
What’s the difference between vente til and vente på?
• vente til = “wait until” (i.e. wait for some moment or condition to happen)
• vente på = “wait for” someone or something to arrive (e.g. vente på bussen = “wait for the bus”)
In our sentence, we’re waiting until the light turns green, so we use vente til.
Why is it trafikklyset and not trafikklys?
Norwegian marks the definite form of neuter nouns by adding -et.
• et trafikklys = “a traffic light”
• trafikklyset = “the traffic light”
Here we want the traffic light, so we attach -et.
Why is viser in the present tense?
In Norwegian, the present tense is used for general or habitual actions. The traffic light regularly “shows green” when it changes, so we use present tense viser (“shows”).
Could we say instead of ?