Heisen er langsom i dag.

to be

Breakdown of Heisen er langsom i dag.

• i dag: today
• heisen: the elevator
• langsom: slow

Questions & Answers about Heisen er langsom i dag.

Why does Heisen end with -en?

Norwegian marks the definite article by adding a suffix to the noun. heis = elevator/lift (indefinite), and heisen = the elevator/lift (definite). You use the definite form when the referent is specific or contextually known (e.g., the building’s elevator).

Useful forms:

• Singular: en heis (a(n) elevator), heisen (the elevator)
• Plural: heiser (elevators), heisene (the elevators)

With an adjective before a definite noun, Norwegian uses “double definiteness”: den langsomme heisen (the slow elevator). In your sentence, the adjective is not before the noun, so no extra determiner is needed.

Why is it langsom and not langsomme here?

Because the adjective is used predicatively (after er). Predicative adjectives agree like this:

• Singular common gender: langsom (e.g., Heisen er langsom.)
• Singular neuter: langsomt (e.g., Toget er langsomt.)
• Plural (all genders): langsomme (e.g., Heisene er langsomme.)

Attributive (before a noun) looks like:

• en langsom heis
• et langsomt tog
• langsomme heiser
• den langsomme heisen

Can I say Heisen er sakte i dag?