Byens marked er fullt av grønnsaker.

The city's market is full of vegetables.

Breakdown of Byens marked er fullt av grønnsaker.

• være: to be
• grønnsaken: the vegetable
• markedet: the market
• av: of
• full: full
• byens: city’s

Questions & Answers about Byens marked er fullt av grønnsaker.

Why is there an -s at the end of Byens?

The -s is the genitive (possessive) marker in Norwegian. You take the definite form of a noun (byen = “the city”) and add -s to show possession: byens marked literally means “the city’s market.”

Why is marked in its indefinite form (no -et ending) instead of markedet?

When a noun is governed by a genitive -s construction, you leave it in the indefinite form. So even though byen is definite, byens marked keeps marked indefinite. If you wanted a standalone definite, you’d say markedet, but not after a possessive -s.

What gender is marked, and how does that affect the adjective fullt?

Marked is a neuter noun: et marked (indefinite singular), markedet (definite). Adjectives in predicate position agree in gender and number. For neuter singular, full becomes fullt.
• Masculine/feminine singular: full
• Neuter singular: fullt
• Plural (all genders): fulle

Why is it fullt av and not full av?

Because marked is neuter, you must use the neuter form fullt. If it were a masculine/feminine noun you’d say full av, and for plural fulle av.

Can I use fullt med instead of fullt av? If yes, is there a difference?

Yes, you can say Byens marked er fullt med grønnsaker.
Difference in nuance:

• fullt av = “brimful of,” emphasizing that it’s packed to the brim
• fullt med = “has lots of,” a bit less vivid but still means “full of”

What is grønnsaker? How do I form its singular and definite forms?

Grønnsaker is the indefinite plural of en grønnsak (“a vegetable”). Forms are:
• Indefinite singular: en grønnsak
• Definite singular: grønnsaken
• Indefinite plural: grønnsaker
• Definite plural: grønnsakene

Are Norwegian nouns capitalized the way they are in German?

No. In Norwegian Bokmål, you only capitalize the first word of a sentence, proper names, and certain titles. Common nouns like byens, marked, and grønnsaker remain lowercase.

Could I rephrase Byens marked er fullt av grønnsaker using i byen instead of the genitive -s?

Yes. A perfectly natural alternative is:
Markedet i byen er fullt av grønnsaker.
Here you use the definite form markedet and the prepositional phrase i byen (“in the city”).

How do I pronounce the ø in Byens and grønnsaker?

The letter ø is a close-mid front rounded vowel. It’s similar to the eu in French bleu or the vowel in the English word fur (but with rounded lips). In IPA it’s [ø:].
Examples:
• Byens = [ˈbyːəns]
• grønnsaker = [ˈɡrø̂nsɑːkər]