Questions & Answers about Musikken i bakgrunnen er rolig.
Why is musikk spelled musikken here?
Because it’s the definite form. In Norwegian you make a noun definite by adding a suffix:
• musikk (music) + -en = musikken (the music).
What does i mean in i bakgrunnen?
i is a preposition meaning “in.” It tells you where the music is: in the background.
Why do we say i bakgrunnen instead of på bakgrunnen?
i bakgrunnen is the idiomatic way to express “in the background” in Norwegian. Saying på bakgrunnen sounds like you literally place something on top of a physical background.
Why is bakgrunn written as bakgrunnen?
That’s the definite form of bakgrunn (background). Like musikken, it takes -en to mean “the background.”
Why is rolig not inflected here (for gender or number)?