Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Sykkelstien er bred, men skyggen fra trærne gjør den kjølig. - The bike path is wide, but the shadow from the trees makes it cool.

Norwegian frequently forms compound nouns by simply sticking words together. Here sykkel (bike) + sti (path) combine into sykkelsti (bike path). Then you add the definite suffix -en to get sykkelstien (“the bike path”).

How do you form the definite singular of a noun like sti?

Nouns in Norwegian have gender and take a suffix instead of a separate article.

Feminine (or common) nouns: add -en or -a
• ei sti (a path) → stien (the path)
Masculine nouns: also -en
Neuter nouns: add -et

Why is it skyggen (“the shade”) instead of skygge (“a shade”)?

Because we’re talking about a specific shade. Indefinite singular is en skygge, definite singular is skyggen (shade + -en).

What role does fra play in skyggen fra trærne? Why not use av?

fra means “from” in the sense of origin or source. You use fra when something comes from somewhere. av can sometimes translate as “from/by,” but fra is preferred for “from” in the sense of location or origin (“shade from the trees”).

How do you form the plural definite of tre (“tree”), and why is it trærne here?

tre is neuter.

Indefinite plural: trær
Definite plural: add -ne → trærne (“the trees”)
We use the definite plural because we’re referring to those specific trees casting shade.

Why is there a comma before men (“but”)?

Norwegian punctuation generally mirrors English here: you place a comma before a coordinating conjunction like men when it links two independent clauses.
Clause 1: Sykkelstien er bred
Clause 2: skyggen fra trærne gjør den kjølig

Why is den used in gjør den kjølig? Could it be det?

Pronouns agree with the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Sti is common gender (feminine/masculine), so you use den (“it” for common gender). Det would refer to a neuter noun.

How does the structure gjøre + object + adjective work in Norwegian?

This parallels English “make something ….”
• gjøre = to make/do
• den = it (object)
• kjølig = cool (adjective)
So gjør den kjølig means “makes it cool.” The adjective stays in its base (uninflected) form because it’s used predicatively.

Why isn’t kjølig inflected (no -t or -e ending)?

Predicative adjectives (those following a verb) do not take gender or number endings. Only attributive adjectives (those directly before a noun) change:
• En kjølig dag (a cool day)
• Et kjølig rom (a cool room)
But after er or gjør, you keep kjølig unchanged.