Huset er moderne.

The house is modern.

Breakdown of Huset er moderne.

• være: to be
• huset: the house
• moderne: modern

Questions & Answers about Huset er moderne.

Why does huset end in -et? What does that ending mean?

The ending -et is the definite article for neuter nouns in Norwegian.

• hus = house
• huset = the house

Norwegian usually attaches “the” to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word, so huset literally means house-the → the house.

So is there no separate word for “the” in this sentence?

Correct. In Huset er moderne, there is no separate word for “the” because it’s built into huset.

For most nouns, Norwegian uses a suffix for “the”:

• en stol = a chair → stolen = the chair
• et hus = a house → huset = the house
• ei bok = a book → boka / boken = the book

What is the grammatical role of each word in Huset er moderne?

• Huset – subject (the thing you’re talking about)
• er – verb (is; present tense of å være = to be)
• moderne – predicate adjective (describes the subject after er)

So the structure is: Subject – Verb – Adjective.

How would I say “a modern house” instead of “the house is modern”?

Use the indefinite form and put the adjective before the noun:

• et moderne hus = a modern house

Compare:

• Huset er moderne. = The house is modern.
• Et moderne hus. = A modern house.

Why is the adjective also moderne in et moderne hus? Doesn’t it change with gender?

The adjective moderne is one of many adjectives in Norwegian that are the same for all genders in the singular:

• et moderne hus (neuter)
• en moderne bil (masculine)
• ei moderne leilighet (feminine, often also en moderne leilighet in Bokmål)

So for adjectives like moderne, the singular form does not change with gender. (Other adjectives, like stor – big, liten – small, gul – yellow, do change.)

Why doesn’t moderne change when the noun is definite, like huset?

Because in Huset er moderne, the adjective is used after the verb (predicatively), and in that position it usually does not take the definite ending -e:

• Huset er moderne. = The house is modern.
• Husene er moderne. = The houses are modern.

However, when the adjective is placed before a definite noun (attributive position), you normally add -e to many adjectives:

• det store huset = the big house
• de store husene = the big houses

For moderne, the form is the same anyway, so it looks unchanged:

• det moderne huset = the modern house

Could I say “Moderne er huset” in Norwegian?

In normal, neutral Norwegian, you say:

• Huset er moderne.

Moderne er huset is only possible in poetry, very marked style, or with strong emphasis, and even then it sounds unusual in everyday speech.

For a simple statement like The house is modern, use Subject – Verb – Adjective:

• Huset er moderne.

Can I drop er and say just “Huset moderne”?

No. Norwegian requires a verb in this type of sentence. You must include er (is).

So:

• ✅ Huset er moderne.
• ❌ Huset moderne. (wrong as a normal sentence)

How do I make the sentence negative, like “The house is not modern”?

Add ikke (not) after the verb er:

• Huset er ikke moderne. = The house is not modern.

Word order: Subject – Verb – Ikke – Adjective
→ Huset – er – ikke – moderne.

How do I turn this into a yes/no question: “Is the house modern?”

Invert the order of subject and verb:

• Er huset moderne? = Is the house modern?

Pattern for yes/no questions:

• Verb – Subject – (rest)
  → Er – huset – moderne?

How do I say “The houses are modern”?

You need the plural definite of hus and make the verb plural (in Norwegian, er is the same for singular and plural):

• Husene er moderne. = The houses are modern.

Forms of hus in Bokmål:

• et hus = a house
• huset = the house
• hus = houses (indefinite plural)
• husene (or husa) = the houses (definite plural)

What’s the difference between Huset er moderne and Det er et moderne hus?

• Huset er moderne.

  • Focuses on a specific house that both speaker and listener know.
  • Literally: The house is modern.

• Det er et moderne hus.

  • More like It is a modern house / That is a modern house.
  • You’re introducing or pointing out a house, not necessarily one that has already been identified.

Both can refer to the same real-world house, but the first assumes the listener already knows which house you mean.