Breakdown of La oss takke ham med et kort; det er god skikk i denne delen av verden.
være
to be
et
a
med
with
i
in
det
it
god
good
oss
us
denne
this
av
of
ham
him
delen
the part
kortet
the card
verden
the world
takke
to thank
la
to let
skikken
the custom
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Questions & Answers about La oss takke ham med et kort; det er god skikk i denne delen av verden.
What does La oss mean and why is it used here?
La oss is the first-person plural imperative in Norwegian, equivalent to English Let’s. It’s used to make a suggestion or proposal that includes both the speaker and the listener(s).
Why is ham used instead of han?
han is the subject form (‘he’), while ham is the object form (‘him’). Since he is the object of the verb takke (to thank), the correct form is ham.
Why is there no å before takke in La oss takke?
After la in imperative constructions, Norwegian omits å before the following infinitive. So you say la oss takke, not la oss å takke.
Why is med used in med et kort? What does it indicate?
med means with and marks the instrument or means. Here it tells us how we will thank him—with a card.
Why is the indefinite article et used before kort? Can it be omitted?
kort is a neuter noun; et is the indefinite singular article (“a”). Omitting it (med kort) would sound strange when you mean a single card. To express “with a card,” you need et.
What is the role of the semicolon here? Could a comma be used instead?
The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses without using a conjunction. You could replace it with a period, but a comma alone would create a comma splice, which is not standard in Norwegian.
What does god skikk mean? Is it the same as “good manners”?
god skikk literally means good custom or proper practice, and it’s very close to English good manners. It emphasizes that something is an accepted social practice in that region.
Why is skikk in singular rather than plural skikker?
When talking about a general custom or practice, Norwegian uses the singular abstract noun skikk. The plural skikker would refer to “individual customs,” but here we refer to the overall practice as one concept.
Can you explain the word order in det er god skikk i denne delen av verden?
- det er = “it is” (expletive det
- verb er)
- god skikk = predicate noun
- i denne delen av verden = location adverbial (“in this part of the world”)
Norwegian follows the V2 rule: the finite verb (er) is in second position, with the expletive det in first.
Why is delen definite and why do we use denne before it?
We refer to a specific part of the world (“this part”), so we use the demonstrative denne plus the definite form delen. If it were an unspecified part, you could say en del av verden, but that changes the meaning.