Questions & Answers about Kaffen er for kald nå.
Why is it kaffen and not kaffe?
Kaffe is the basic form of the noun coffee (indefinite: coffee in general).
Kaffen is the definite form: the coffee (a specific coffee you and the listener know about).
- Kaffe er godt. = Coffee is good. (coffee in general)
- Kaffen er for kald nå. = The coffee is too cold now. (the particular coffee in front of you)
Norwegian usually marks definite nouns with an ending (here -en) instead of a separate word like the.
What gender is kaffe, and how do I know?
In Bokmål, kaffe is normally masculine.
You can tell by looking it up in a dictionary: it will usually show (en) kaffe.
That means:
- Singular indefinite: en kaffe
- Singular definite: kaffen
There is no reliable rule to guess gender for all nouns, so learners generally need to memorize it or check a dictionary.
What does for mean in for kald?
Here for is not the preposition for (as in for you). It is an adverb meaning too (excessively).
- for kald = too cold
- for stor = too big
- for dyr = too expensive
Compare:
- Kaffen er veldig kald. = The coffee is very cold. (strong, but not necessarily a problem)
- Kaffen er for kald. = The coffee is too cold. (this is a problem / not acceptable)