Breakdown of Postmannen leverer brev og aviser før frokost.
og
and
avisen
the newspaper
før
before
frokosten
the breakfast
brevet
the letter
postmannen
the mailman
levere
to deliver
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Questions & Answers about Postmannen leverer brev og aviser før frokost.
What does postmannen mean and how is it constructed?
postmannen means the mailman. It’s formed by taking postmann (mailman) and adding the masculine definite suffix -en, which turns it into “the mailman.”
Why is postmannen written as one word?
Norwegian combines related words into compounds. postmann (post + mann) is a single compound noun, and you append the definite ending -en directly, giving postmannen without any space.
What is the infinitive form of leverer, and how do you form its present tense?
The infinitive is å levere (to deliver). To form the present tense, drop the final -e and add -er: levere → leverer.
How can you tell if brev is singular or plural in this sentence?
Many neuter nouns like brev have identical forms for indefinite singular and plural. Here, because it’s listed with aviser (newspapers, plural), brev means letters (plural).
Why are brev and aviser used without an article?
Indefinite plural nouns in Norwegian do not take an article. Since brev (letters) and aviser (newspapers) are both plural indefinite, you simply list them without using en or et.
Why is før frokost not preceded by an article?
When talking about meals in time expressions, Norwegian omits the article. før frokost means before breakfast in a general sense, so no article is needed.
What is the usual word order in this sentence, and can you move før frokost to the front?
The standard order is Subject–Verb–Object–Adverbial:
Postmannen (S) leverer (V) brev og aviser (O) før frokost (A).
Thanks to the V2 rule, you can front the time phrase:
Før frokost leverer postmannen brev og aviser.
Notice the verb remains in second position.
How do you form the plural of avis, and what does aviser mean?
avis (newspaper) forms its indefinite plural by adding -er, resulting in aviser, which means newspapers.