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Læreren forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.

Læreren forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.
The teacher explains the value of the right to vote in the social studies class.
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Questions & Answers about Læreren forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.

Why is it Læreren (the teacher) and not just Lærer (teacher) at the start of the sentence?

Norwegian normally uses the definite form for a specific, known person or thing, even as the subject of the sentence.

  • en lærer = a teacher (indefinite, not a specific one)
  • læreren = the teacher (definite, a specific one you and the listener know about)

In this sentence, we are talking about a particular teacher in a particular class, so Norwegian naturally uses Læreren.

If you said En lærer forklarer verdien av stemmerett …, it would sound more like:

  • A teacher (some teacher, not a specific one) explains the value of the right to vote …
What tense is forklarer, and why isn’t a form like er i ferd med å forklare used for “is explaining”?

Forklarer is the present tense of the verb å forklare (to explain). In Norwegian, the simple present tense usually covers both:

  • explains
  • is explaining

So:

  • Læreren forklarer … can mean either
    • The teacher explains … (general habit) or
    • The teacher is explaining … (happening now)
      depending on context.

Forms like er i ferd med å forklare or holder på å forklare exist, but they are used only when you really want to emphasize that something is in progress right now. In normal sentences you just use the simple present forklarer.

Why is it verdien (the value) and not verdi (value)?

Verdi is the indefinite form (a value / value in general), and verdien is the definite form (the value).

  • en verdi = a value
  • verdien = the value

In Norwegian, when you say “the value of X”, the noun verdi is almost always definite:

  • verdien av stemmerett = the value of (the) voting rights / the value of the right to vote

This is a fixed pattern:

  • verdien av utdanning = the value of education
  • verdien av hardt arbeid = the value of hard work

Using bare verdi here (forklarer verdi av …) would be ungrammatical. You need verdien.

Why is the preposition av used in verdien av stemmerett? Could you use til or om instead?

In this context, av expresses a “of”-relationship (a kind of genitive):

  • verdien av stemmerett ≈ the value of (the) voting rights

You cannot replace av with til here:

  • ✗ verdien til stemmerett – incorrect in this meaning

And om would change the structure and meaning:

  • Læreren forklarer om stemmerett = The teacher explains about the right to vote
    (talks about it in general, not specifically “the value of” it)

So:

  • verdien av X = the value of X
  • forklarer om X = explains about X (topic)

In the given sentence, av is the only natural choice.

What exactly does stemmerett mean, and how is this word formed?

Stemmerett is a compound noun:

  • stemme = vote (verb: to vote; noun: a vote / a voice)
  • rett = right (as in a legal or moral right)

Together:

  • stemmerett = the right to vote, voting rights

Grammatically:

  • en stemmerett = a right to vote
  • stemmeretten = the right to vote

In the sentence, it appears without an article (see next question), because it is used in a general, abstract way: the concept of voting rights.

Why is there no article in av stemmerett? Could you say av stemmeretten instead?

Both are possible, but they are slightly different:

  1. av stemmerett (no article)

    • Focuses on voting rights in general, as an abstract concept:
      • the value of voting rights (as a principle)

  2. av stemmeretten (definite form)

    • Focuses on a specific right to vote (for example in this country, this system):
      • the value of the right to vote (the particular right we have)

In everyday speech, both versions can feel very close in meaning, but:

  • The textbook-like, more general formulation is verdien av stemmerett.
  • If you want to stress our specific right to vote, you can say verdien av stemmeretten.
What does samfunnsfagtimen mean, and how is that long word built?

Samfunnsfagtimen is another compound noun plus a definite ending. Break it down:

  1. samfunn = society

  2. fag = subject (school subject, field)
    → samfunnsfag = social studies (literally: “society subject”)

  3. time = lesson / class period (also “hour”)
    → samfunnsfagtime = a social-studies lesson

  4. samfunnsfagtimen = the social studies lesson / the social studies class

    • -en is the definite singular ending.

So the whole phrase i samfunnsfagtimen literally means:

  • in the social-studies lesson
    ≈ in social studies class.
Why is the preposition i used in i samfunnsfagtimen and not på samfunnsfagtimen?

With time / lesson / class, Norwegian typically uses i to mean during / in (the middle of):

  • i timen = in the class, during the lesson
  • i norsktimen = in the Norwegian class
  • i samfunnsfagtimen = in the social studies class

På is used in other situations:

  • på skolen = at school
  • på universitetet = at the university
  • på kurs = on a course

Saying på samfunnsfagtimen would sound unusual or wrong to most speakers. The natural preposition with time in this meaning is i.

Why is there no possessive pronoun, like i sin samfunnsfagtime (in his/her social studies class)?

Norwegian often omits possessive pronouns in cases where English requires them, especially with:

  • parts of the body
  • close relationships
  • things that clearly belong to the subject (like “their class” at school)

So:

  • Læreren forklarer … i samfunnsfagtimen.
    = Literally: The teacher explains … in the social-studies lesson.
    But it naturally implies their own class in context.

You can say:

  • i sin samfunnsfagtime = in his/her own social studies class

This is grammatically correct, but it usually sounds more marked or specific, as if you are contrasting it with some other class. In neutral descriptions, Norwegian prefers to drop the possessive and just say i samfunnsfagtimen.

Is the word order fixed in Læreren forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen, or can I move elements around?

The given order is the most natural:

  1. Subject: Læreren
  2. Verb: forklarer
  3. Object/complements: verdien av stemmerett
  4. Adverbial (where/when): i samfunnsfagtimen

You can move the adverbial a bit, but some options sound more natural than others:

  • Læreren forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen. ✔️ (very natural)
  • Læreren forklarer i samfunnsfagtimen verdien av stemmerett. ✔️ (possible, slightly more marked/emphatic on “in that class”)

Putting i samfunnsfagtimen between forklarer and verdien is allowed, but it can sound a bit heavier in everyday speech. The original sentence is stylistically the simplest and most neutral.

What you cannot change is the basic verb‑second rule for main clauses:

  • The finite verb (forklarer) must be second element (after the subject here).
How would the sentence change in the past tense and/or with a plural subject?

Base sentence (singular, present):

  • Læreren forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.

  1. Past tense (same teacher):

    • Læreren forklarte verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.
    • forklarte = past tense of forklare

  2. Plural subject (several teachers), present:

    • Lærerne forklarer verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.
    • lærerne = the teachers (definite plural of en lærer)
    • Verb forklarer stays the same; Norwegian verbs don’t change for plural.

  3. Plural subject, past:

    • Lærerne forklarte verdien av stemmerett i samfunnsfagtimen.

So only the noun endings (læreren → lærerne) and the tense of the verb (forklarer → forklarte) change.

Why is samfunnsfag not capitalized, even though it’s a school subject?

In Norwegian, school subjects and fields of study are normally not capitalized, unlike in English.

So you write:

  • norsk, engelsk, historie, matematikk, samfunnsfag
    (Norwegian, English, history, mathematics, social studies)

They are only capitalized if they are at the beginning of a sentence or part of a proper name (for example, a course title that is officially written with a capital). In samfunnsfagtimen, it sits in the middle of the word and therefore stays lowercase.