Fredagen er lang, men kvelden er rolig.

to be

Breakdown of Fredagen er lang, men kvelden er rolig.

• lang: long
• men: but
• kvelden: the evening

Questions & Answers about Fredagen er lang, men kvelden er rolig.

What does the -en at the end of Fredagen and kvelden mean?

The suffix -en is the definite article “the” attached to the noun. So fredag = Friday, fredagen = the Friday; kveld = evening, kvelden = the evening. Indefinite forms would be en fredag and en kveld.

Why are both nouns in the definite form here?

Because the sentence talks about a specific day and its evening, essentially “this Friday” and “that evening.” Using the definite form ties the two together: the evening belongs to that Friday. For a general, habitual statement, you’d phrase it differently (see below).

Could I say Fredag er lang to mean “Friday is long (in general)”?

That sounds odd in Norwegian. For general habits, use:

• Plural: Fredager er lange (Fridays are long).
• Or with a preposition: På fredager er dagen lang (On Fridays, the day is long).

Why is it lang and not lenge?

Lang is an adjective (“long”) describing the noun fredagen. Lenge is an adverb (“for a long time”). You’d use lenge with a verb, e.g., Fredagen varer lenge (Friday lasts a long time).

Why not langt?