Questions & Answers about Eksamen er vanskeligere enn prøven.
Why is there no article before eksamen, while prøven has -en?
Norwegian often drops the article for certain “institutional” or recurring activities, especially in a general sense. Words like skole (school), jobb (work), frokost (breakfast) and eksamen (exam) are frequently used without an article when you talk about them in a more general or habitual way:
- Jeg har eksamen i morgen. – I have an exam tomorrow.
- Eksamen er vanskelig. – Exams / the exam (in general) is hard.
By contrast, prøven here clearly has the definite ending -en, meaning “the test.”
So in this sentence:
- Eksamen = “exam” in a general / known context, no article.
- prøven = “the test” (a specific test) – en prøve → prøven.
You could also say Eksamenen er vanskeligere enn prøven if you want to emphasise one specific, clearly identified exam, but Eksamen without article is very common and natural.
What are the genders and dictionary forms of eksamen and prøve?