Helsetjenesten sender en e-post i dag.

The health service sends an email today.

Breakdown of Helsetjenesten sender en e-post i dag.

• en: a
• i dag: today
• sende: to send
• e-posten: the email
• helsetjenesten: the health service

Questions & Answers about Helsetjenesten sender en e-post i dag.

Why is helsetjenesten in the definite form, and could I use the indefinite form instead?

Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix, so helsetjenesten = “the health service.” The indefinite singular is helsetjeneste = “a health service.” You use the definite when a specific, known service is meant (or the service as an institution). Using the indefinite, Helsetjeneste sender …, would sound odd; you’d normally need a determiner like En helsetjeneste sender … (“A health service sends …”), which changes the meaning.

What gender is e-post? Why en e-post and not ei/et e-post?

E-post is masculine in Bokmål, so the correct article is en:

• Indefinite singular: en e-post
• Definite singular: e-posten
• Indefinite plural: e-poster
• Definite plural: e-postene
  You don’t use ei or et with e-post.

Is the hyphen in e-post required? Can I write epost, e-mail, or mail?

The recommended spelling is e-post (with hyphen). You’ll see epost informally, but it’s less standard in formal writing. E-mail is understood but is less common in Norwegian texts. Mail can be ambiguous because it can mean physical mail; prefer e-post.

Why is the verb in the present (sender) when English might say “will send” or “is sending”?

Norwegian present tense often covers:

• A general present or ongoing action: Helsetjenesten sender … (“is sending/sends”)
• A near-future, scheduled, or planned action when a time is given: … i dag (“… today”) You can also use skal for intention/plan (Helsetjenesten skal sende … i dag) or kommer til å for prediction.

Where can I put the time expression i dag? What happens if I move it to the front?

Default is at the end: Helsetjenesten sender en e-post i dag.
If you front it, you must invert subject and verb (the V2 rule):
I dag sender helsetjenesten en e-post.
Both are natural; fronting i dag adds emphasis to “today.”

How do I negate the sentence? Where does ikke go?

Place ikke after the finite verb:

• General negation: Helsetjenesten sender ikke e-post i dag. (“doesn’t send email today”)
• Negating a single item: Helsetjenesten sender ikke en e-post i dag. (“won’t send a single email today”)
  The version without the article (ikke e-post) sounds more general, like “no email at all.”

Can I drop the article and say sender e-post?

Yes. Sende e-post treats email as an uncountable medium (“send email”). Sende en e‑post focuses on a single message (“send an email”). Both are common; choose based on whether you mean the medium or one specific message.

How do I add a recipient? Is there a preferred word order?

Two common patterns:

• Double-object: Helsetjenesten sender meg en e-post i dag. (“sends me an email”)
• Prepositional: Helsetjenesten sender en e-post til meg i dag.
  Both are fine. With nouns: sender pasientene en e-post / sender en e‑post til pasientene. Place ikke before the object(s): sender ikke meg/en e-post …

Is i dag written as one word or two?

Two words: i dag. The one-word idag is nonstandard in modern Norwegian. The same applies to i morgen (“tomorrow”)—also two words.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximate IPA (Eastern Norwegian):

• helsetjenesten: [ˈhɛlseˌçeːnəstən] (the tj is the “kj-sound,” like German ich [ç])
• sender: [ˈsɛnːdər]
• en: [ɛn]
• e-post: [ˈeːˌpɔst]
• i dag: [i ˈdɑː] (the final g in dag is often weak or silent)
  Stress in the compound helsetjenesten falls on the first element: HÉLse–…

What are the plural forms of helsetjeneste and e-post?

• helsetjeneste → plural: helsetjenester; definite plural: helsetjenestene
• e-post → plural: e-poster; definite plural: e-postene
  Using Helsetjenestene sender … means “The health services (plural) send …”

Should helsetjenesten be capitalized?

Only at the start of a sentence or if it’s part of an official name:

• Generic/common noun: helsetjenesten
• Proper name: Helsetjenesten i Oslo kommune

What’s the difference between helsetjenesten and helsevesenet?

Both can refer broadly to healthcare, but:

• helsetjenesten emphasizes the services provided (often at municipal or institutional level).
• helsevesenet refers to the healthcare system as a whole.
  Context decides which sounds more natural.

How do I express past or completed action “today”?

Use preterite or perfect:

• Preterite: Helsetjenesten sendte en e-post i dag. (“sent [earlier today]”)
• Present perfect: Helsetjenesten har sendt en e-post i dag. (“has sent [at some point today]”)

What is the full conjugation of the verb sende?

• Infinitive: å sende
• Present: sender
• Preterite: sendte
• Past participle: sendt
• Imperative: send!

Does en e-post ever mean specifically “one email,” not just “an email”?

If you need to stress the number, write én e-post with an accent on the numeral (én) to mean “one (exactly one) email.” Without the accent, en e‑post is just the indefinite article (“an email”).