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Læreren kommenterer teksten i notatboken min.

Læreren kommenterer teksten i notatboken min.
The teacher comments on the text in my notebook.

Breakdown of Læreren kommenterer teksten i notatboken min.

i
in
min
my
notatboken
the notebook
læreren
the teacher
teksten
the text
kommentere
to comment on
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Questions & Answers about Læreren kommenterer teksten i notatboken min.

Why is there no word for “on” in «kommenterer teksten»? In English we say “comment on the text.”

In Norwegian, kommentere is normally used as a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object without a preposition:

  • å kommentere noe = to comment on something

So you say:

  • Læreren kommenterer teksten.
    The teacher comments on the text.

You don’t say kommentere på teksten in standard Norwegian for this meaning. The preposition på is not needed here.

What does the ending -en in læreren, teksten, notatboken mean?

The ending -en is the definite article (“the”) for most masculine and many feminine nouns in Bokmål.

  • lærer = teacher
    læreren = the teacher
  • tekst = text
    teksten = the text
  • notatbok = notebook
    notatboken = the notebook

So Læreren kommenterer teksten i notatboken min literally is:

  • Læreren = the teacher
  • kommenterer = comments (on)
  • teksten = the text
  • i notatboken = in the notebook
  • min = my

→ The teacher comments on the text in my notebook.

Why is it «notatboken min» and not «min notatbok»? What’s the difference?

Norwegian allows two positions for possessive pronouns:

  1. Noun + definite ending + possessive (most common, neutral)

    • notatboken min = my notebook
    • læreren min = my teacher
    • bilen min = my car

  2. Possessive + bare noun (often more emphatic, or stylistic)

    • min notatbok
    • min lærer
    • min bil

In everyday Bokmål, notatboken min is the default, neutral way to say my notebook.
Min notatbok can sound:

  • slightly more emphatic (“my notebook, not someone else’s”), or
  • more formal / literary, depending on context.

In the given sentence, i notatboken min is exactly what you’d expect in normal speech and writing.

Why is the possessive min and not mitt or mine?

The form of the possessive pronoun must agree with the gender and number of the noun:

  • en-words (masculine/feminine singular) → min
  • et-words (neuter singular) → mitt
  • plural → mine

Notatbok is an en-word (en notatbok), so:

  • en notatbok – notatboken min = my notebook
    If it were neuter:

  • et hus – huset mitt = my house

For plural:

  • notatbøker – notatbøkene mine = my notebooks
If I want to say “my teacher”, where would I put min? Would it be in this sentence?

To say “my teacher comments on the text in my notebook”, you would add min after læreren:

  • Læreren min kommenterer teksten i notatboken min.

Breakdown:

  • Læreren min = my teacher
  • notatboken min = my notebook

Again, the most natural pattern is [definite noun] + [possessive]:

  • læreren min (my teacher)
  • notatboken min (my notebook)
What verb tense is kommenterer? Does it mean “comments” or “is commenting”?

Kommenterer is the present tense of å kommentere.

Norwegian does not have a separate present continuous (like English is commenting). The same present form is used for:

  • The teacher comments on the text.
  • The teacher is commenting on the text.

Both are simply:

  • Læreren kommenterer teksten …

Context decides whether you translate it as simple present or present continuous in English.

What is the infinitive of kommenterer, and how does this verb conjugate?

The infinitive is å kommentere (to comment).

Conjugation (regular -ere verb):

  • å kommentere = to comment
  • jeg kommenterer = I comment / I am commenting
  • jeg kommenterte = I commented
  • jeg har kommentert = I have commented

So in the sentence:

  • kommenterer is present tense of å kommentere.
Could I say «på notatboken» instead of «i notatboken»?

Not with the same meaning.

  • i notatboken = in the notebook (inside/on the pages)
  • på notatboken = on the notebook (on the cover / surface)

When you mean text written in a notebook, you normally use i:

  • i boka = in the book
  • i dagboka mi = in my diary
  • i notatboken min = in my notebook

So i notatboken min is correct here.

Why is it «teksten» and not just «tekst»? Could you say «kommenterer tekst»?

Teksten is definite: the text. In Norwegian, you normally mark specific, known things as definite.

In this sentence, we are talking about a particular text (for example, the one you wrote), so teksten is natural.

  • kommenterer tekst (without an article) would sound unnatural in most contexts, like “comments text” in English.
  • You could say kommenterer en tekst = comments on a text, but that means some text, a text (indefinite), not a specific, known one.

So teksten fits the idea: the (specific) text.

Why is it «i notatboken min» and not «i min notatboken»?

With possessives, standard Bokmål word order is:

  • [preposition] + [definite noun] + [possessive]

So:

  • i notatboken min = in my notebook
  • på bordet mitt = on my table
  • med læreren min = with my teacher

Putting the possessive before a definite noun (i min notatboken) is ungrammatical in standard Bokmål.
You can have:

  • min notatbok (possessive + indefinite noun),
    but not min notatboken.
How would I say “my notebooks” or “the texts in my notebooks”?

Plural of notatbok:

  • (indefinite plural) notatbøker = notebooks
  • (definite plural) notatbøkene = the notebooks

With possessives:

  • notatbøkene mine = my notebooks
  • tekstene i notatbøkene mine = the texts in my notebooks

Example:

  • Læreren kommenterer tekstene i notatbøkene mine.
    = The teacher comments on the texts in my notebooks.
Are there synonyms for notatbok? I’ve seen notatblokk and skrivebok too.

Yes, there are several near-synonyms:

  • notatbok – notebook, note book (very general)
  • notatblokk – notepad / pad of paper (often tear-off pages)
  • skrivebok – exercise book / writing book (often what pupils use at school)

In your sentence, notatbok and skrivebok could both fit, depending on context:

  • Læreren kommenterer teksten i skriveboken min.
    = often understood as the exercise book I use at school.
How would this sentence look in Nynorsk, and is there a big difference?

A natural Nynorsk version would be:

  • Læraren kommenterer teksten i notatboka mi.

Differences compared to Bokmål:

  • læreren → læraren
  • notatboken → notatboka
  • min (after en-word) → mi (feminine form)

But the basic structure and meaning are the same.