Jeg hviler på sofaen.

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Breakdown of Jeg hviler på sofaen.

• på: on
• sofaen: the sofa
• hvile: to rest

Questions & Answers about Jeg hviler på sofaen.

What does hviler mean, and how is hvile conjugated in Norwegian?

hviler is the present tense of hvile, meaning to rest. Conjugation (Bokmål):

• Infinitive: hvile
• Present: hviler
• Past: hvilte
• Past participle: hvilt

Why is the preposition på used here instead of another preposition?

på expresses location on a surface (just like English on the sofa). You wouldn’t use i, because i sofaen would imply “inside the sofa.”

Why is sofaen used instead of sofa, and what does the suffix -en indicate?

Norwegian attaches the definite article to the noun:

• sofa = a sofa
• sofaen = the sofa
  The suffix -en marks the noun as definite singular (common gender).

Why is the subject jeg necessary? Can you omit it as in English?