Word
Fagforeningen hjelper oss å forhandle om en ny tariffavtale.
Meaning
The trade union helps us negotiate a new collective agreement.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Fagforeningen hjelper oss å forhandle om en ny tariffavtale.
Why is it fagforeningen and not fagforening?
Norwegian normally marks definiteness on the noun itself, using an ending:
- fagforening = a (or any) trade union
- fagforeningen = the trade union
So fagforeningen hjelper oss ... means the union (a specific, known one) is helping us.
If you said:
- En fagforening hjelper oss å forhandle ...
that would mean a trade union (not a specific one) helps us negotiate …
Both are grammatically correct, but they say slightly different things about how specific the union is.
Could I say en fagforening hjelper oss å forhandle … instead?
Yes, that is grammatically fine:
- En fagforening hjelper oss å forhandle om en ny tariffavtale.
This would be used if you are speaking more generally, e.g. in a textbook or a description of what unions do in general:
- A trade union helps us negotiate a new collective agreement.
The original fagforeningen suggests that both speaker and listener know which union is being talked about (for example, your own union at work).
Why is it oss and not vi after hjelper?