Breakdown of Skiltet viser også en omvei som gir oss en sjanse til å se havnen.
en
a
se
to see
til
to
å
to
oss
us
gi
to give
også
also
vise
to show
som
that
skiltet
the sign
omveien
the detour
sjansen
the chance
havnen
the harbour
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Questions & Answers about Skiltet viser også en omvei som gir oss en sjanse til å se havnen.
What does Skiltet mean, and why does it end with -et?
Skiltet is skilt (‘sign’) in the definite singular form. In Norwegian neuter nouns add -et to indicate “the …”: skilt → skiltet = “the sign.”
Why is the adverb også placed after viser in Skiltet viser også en omvei?
In Norwegian main clauses, most adverbs (like også = “also”) follow the finite verb. Here viser is the finite verb, so you say viser også rather than også viser.
What does en omvei mean, and what gender is omvei?
En omvei means “a detour” or “a roundabout way.” In Bokmål it takes the masculine article en, even though in Nynorsk it’s feminine. So you treat it as a countable masculine noun here.
What role does som play in en omvei som gir oss en sjanse?
Som is the relative pronoun (“that”/“which”) introducing the relative clause som gir oss en sjanse. It links back to en omvei and adds the description “that gives us a chance.”
Why is oss used in gir oss instead of vi?
Oss is the object pronoun “us.” After the verb gir (“gives”), the recipient must be in object form, so it’s gir oss (“gives us”), not gir vi.
Why is it en sjanse til å se havnen, and what does til å do here?
Til å is the combination of the preposition til (“for/to”) plus the infinitive marker å. When a verb follows a noun (here sjanse), you need til å before the infinitive: sjanse til å se = “chance to see.”
Why is havnen in the definite form rather than en havn?
Using havnen (“the harbour”) implies a specific harbour known from context. If you said en havn, it would just mean “a harbour” in general, without pointing to a particular one.
Could we use mulighet instead of sjanse, and what’s the nuance?
Yes. Mulighet also means “opportunity” or “possibility,” but it’s a bit more formal/abstract. Sjanse is more colloquial. So gir oss en mulighet til å se havnen is correct and slightly more formal than gir oss en sjanse til å se havnen.
Can we omit the article en before omvei, or must we use it?
You must include an article for a singular countable noun. You could instead say omveien (definite: “the detour”) if it’s clear which one you mean, but you cannot drop the article entirely (i.e., viser også omvei is ungrammatical).