Breakdown of Barnet er nysgjerrig og stiller mange spørsmål.
være
to be
barnet
the child
og
and
mange
many
nysgjerrig
curious
stille spørsmål
to ask questions
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Questions & Answers about Barnet er nysgjerrig og stiller mange spørsmål.
What does the -et in Barnet mean?
- It marks definite neuter singular: “the child.”
- Noun forms for barn (neuter):
- Indefinite singular: et barn
- Definite singular: barnet
- Indefinite plural: barn
- Definite plural: barna
Why is it nysgjerrig and not nysgjerrigt (with a -t) even though barnet is neuter?
Adjectives ending in -ig/-lig/-sk do not add -t in the neuter. In predicative position (after er):
- Bilen er stor. (common gender)
- Huset er stort. (neuter; adds -t)
- Barnet er nysgjerrig. (neuter; no -t because the adjective ends in -ig)
How would the adjective look if it came before the noun (attributive)?
- Indefinite: et nysgjerrig barn
- Definite: det nysgjerrige barnet In definite attributive position, adjectives take -e and the noun gets the definite article (det/den/de) plus the -et/-en/-ene ending.
What’s the difference between nysgjerrig and interessert?
- nysgjerrig = curious/inquisitive in general.
- interessert (i) = interested in something specific, usually followed by i: Barnet er interessert i dyr.
Why is it stiller mange spørsmål and not spør mange spørsmål?
Norwegian uses the collocation å stille (et) spørsmål “to ask/pose a question.” You normally don’t say spør mange spørsmål. Use:
- å stille mange spørsmål Use å spørre with a person or with om:
- å spørre noen (om noe) = to ask someone (about something)
How do I say “ask someone a question” in Norwegian?
- stille noen et spørsmål
- stille et spørsmål til noen With spørre, say: spørre noen om noe (ask someone about something), not with spørsmål as the object.
When do I use mange vs mye?
- mange with countable plural nouns: mange spørsmål
- mye with uncountable/mass nouns: mye tid, mye vann Note: mye penger is common even though penger is plural, because it’s treated as a mass quantity.
How does spørsmål inflect?
- Indefinite singular: et spørsmål
- Definite singular: spørsmålet
- Indefinite plural: spørsmål (same as singular)
- Definite plural: spørsmålene
Can I repeat the subject after og?
Yes. Both are correct:
- Barnet er nysgjerrig og stiller mange spørsmål. (subject understood for both verbs)
- Barnet er nysgjerrig, og barnet stiller mange spørsmål. (subject repeated for emphasis/clarity)
Why is there no comma before og here?
No comma is needed when og links two predicates that share the same subject. You typically use a comma if you’re linking two full independent clauses or for clarity in longer sentences.
What about word order after og—should there be inversion?
No inversion is needed because the subject is the same and understood. If you repeat the subject, each clause follows normal main-clause word order:
- Barnet er …, og barnet stiller …
How do you pronounce nysgjerrig and spørsmål?
- nysgjerrig: roughly “NY-sheh-rig.” The letter y is a front rounded vowel (like German ü), and the sj sound is like English “sh.”
- spørsmål: roughly “SPURSH-mawl.” ø is like French “eu” (as in “peur”), rs merges to a “sh”-like sound in many accents, and å is like the vowel in English “law.”
How would I say it in the past tense?
Barnet var nysgjerrig og stilte mange spørsmål.
(Verb å stille conjugates: stiller (present), stilte (preterite), har stilt (perfect).)
How do I say “The children are curious and ask many questions”?
- Barna er nysgjerrige og stiller mange spørsmål. (definite plural, “the children”)
- Barn er nysgjerrige og stiller mange spørsmål. (generic plural, “children”) Note the plural adjective nysgjerrige with -e.
Is stille here the same word as the adjective stille (“quiet”)?
They are different words with the same spelling:
- Verb å stille = to pose/submit/set (e.g., stille spørsmål).
- Adjective stille = quiet (e.g., en stille kveld). Context tells them apart.