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Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Abonnementet er billig nå. - The subscription is cheap now.

Hardcore Norwegian
/Lesson 43
/Abonnementet er billig nå.

Abonnementet er billig nå.

Word

Abonnementet er billig nå.

Meaning

The subscription is cheap now.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Norwegian

Lesson

Breakdown of Abonnementet er billig nå.

the subscription

Questions & Answers about Abonnementet er billig nå.

Why is it abonnementet and not just abonnement?

Norwegian usually adds a definite ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like the in English.

abonnement = a subscription / subscription (indefinite)
abonnementet = the subscription (definite)

So abonnementet er billig nå literally means the subscription is cheap now.

Using abonnement without -et here would sound like you are talking about subscriptions in general, not a specific one.

What gender is abonnement, and why does it take -et?

Abonnement is a neuter noun (in Norwegian: intetkjønn).

Most neuter nouns take -et in the definite singular:
- hus → huset (the house)
- brev → brevet (the letter)
- abonnement → abonnementet (the subscription)

So -et here is the definite suffix for a neuter noun.

Why is billig not changed to agree with abonnementet?

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Adjectives in Norwegian do agree with the noun, but only in certain forms.

For a predicative adjective (after er, blir, etc.), the form is usually the same for masculine and neuter in the singular:

Bilen er billig. – The car is cheap.
Huset er billig. – The house is cheap.

You only see a special neuter form when the adjective is in front of a neuter noun:

et billig abonnement – a cheap subscription (neuter, indefinite)
abonnementet er billig – the subscription is cheap

So billig is already the correct form here.

Could you say nå er abonnementet billig? Is that different?

Yes, you can say Nå er abonnementet billig.

Both are grammatical and mean the same thing: The subscription is cheap now.

Abonnementet er billig nå – neutral word order, focuses slightly on the subscription.
Nå er abonnementet billig – brings nå (now) to the front, giving a bit more emphasis to the change in time: Now (as opposed to before) the subscription is cheap.

In everyday speech, both are common; the difference is mostly about emphasis and rhythm, not meaning.

What exactly does nå mean here? Is it now as in “at this moment” or “these days”?

Nå generally corresponds to now, but it can be:

Right now / at this moment
- Abonnementet er billig nå – The subscription is cheap now (maybe because of a campaign going on at this moment).
These days / currently / at present
- It can also mean that the price has changed and is now generally cheaper than it used to be.

Context (for example, talking about a new price plan) will decide if it feels more like right now or these days.

Is nå always placed at the end like this?

No. Nå is quite flexible in position. You can hear:

Abonnementet er billig nå.
Nå er abonnementet billig.
Abonnementet er nå billig. (less common, a bit more formal/emphatic)

The first two are the most natural in normal conversation. Word order mostly affects emphasis, not grammatical correctness.

How do you pronounce abonnementet?

Pronunciation varies slightly by dialect, but in a common Eastern Norwegian pronunciation you’ll often hear something like:

abonnementet ≈ ah-boh-no-MENN-eh

Some tips:

Stress is typically on the second-to-last syllable: -men-.
The t at the very end is usually pronounced.
The e sounds are short and unstressed except in the stressed syllable.

Native speech can reduce it a bit, so it may sound shorter and more blurred in fast conversation.

Is abonnement used only for phone subscriptions?

No. Abonnement is a general word for subscription, just like in English. It can refer to:

telefonabonnement – phone subscription
avisabonnement – newspaper subscription
strømabonnement – electricity contract
Spotify-abonnement, Netflix-abonnement, etc.

So abonnementet could be any kind of subscription, depending on context.

Can billig also mean “inexpensive but low quality”, like “cheap” can in English?

Primarily, billig means low in price / inexpensive. Context decides whether the speaker thinks that’s good or bad.

If you want to emphasize poor quality, Norwegians might say:
- dårlig kvalitet – bad quality
- billig og dårlig – cheap and bad
- billig dritt (very informal) – cheap crap

But just billig by itself is neutral: it doesn’t automatically imply poor quality.

Could I say Abonnementet er ikke så billig nå to mean “The subscription is not so cheap now”?

Yes, that’s correct Norwegian.

Abonnementet er ikke så billig nå.
– The subscription is not so cheap now.

You’ve just added:

ikke – not
så – so (here: so / that / very)

This implies that it used to be cheaper, or that you expected it to be cheaper.

If I wanted to say “Subscriptions are cheap now” in general, how would I change the sentence?

You need the plural form of abonnement and a plural verb–adjective agreement:

Abonnementer er billige nå. – Subscriptions are cheap now.

Breakdown:

abonnementer – subscriptions (indefinite plural)
er – are
billige – cheap (plural adjective form)
nå – now

So both the noun and adjective show plural: abonnementer – billige.

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