Breakdown of På oppgavearket står det også en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel.
Questions & Answers about På oppgavearket står det også en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel.
«På oppgavearket» literally means “on the worksheet / on the exercise sheet.”
- oppgaveark = worksheet / exercise sheet
- oppgave = exercise, task
- ark = sheet (of paper)
- oppgavearket = the worksheet (definite form)
Norwegian uses «på» (“on”) for things that are written/printed on flat surfaces like ark (sheets), tavler (boards), skjermer (screens), etc.:
- På arket står det … – It says on the sheet …
- På tavla står det … – It says on the board …
You would more often see «i» (“in”) with books, newspapers, magazines:
- I boka står det … – It says in the book …
- I avisen står det … – It says in the newspaper …
So «på oppgavearket» is natural because a worksheet is seen as a surface something is written on.
Norwegian normally uses the definite form where English uses “the”:
- oppgaveark = a worksheet
- oppgavearket = the worksheet
In this sentence, the speaker clearly has a specific worksheet in mind (for example, the one the students have in front of them), so Norwegian uses the definite form:
- På oppgavearket … = On the worksheet …
If you said:
- På et oppgaveark står det også en kort forklaring …
it would mean “On a worksheet there is also a short explanation …”, i.e. on some worksheet, not necessarily the one both speaker and listener know about. That would be a different meaning.
In Norwegian, the verb «stå» (to stand) is commonly used to talk about text that is printed or written somewhere. It corresponds to English “it says” or “is written”:
- Det står i boka at … – It says in the book that …
- På skjermen står det … – It says on the screen …
So:
- På oppgavearket står det også en kort forklaring …
≈ “On the worksheet, there is also a short explanation … / it also says a short explanation …”
You could use «er» in some contexts («På arket er det …»), but when talking specifically about written text, «stå» is the usual and most natural verb.
Here «det» is a dummy (expletive) subject, similar to English “there” in “there is/are …”.
Underlying idea:
- Det står også en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel på oppgavearket.
= There is also a short explanation of each grammar rule on the worksheet.
When we front an adverbial like «På oppgavearket», Norwegian must keep verb-second (V2) word order:
- First element: På oppgavearket (on the worksheet)
- Second element: står (the finite verb)
- Then the subject: here, the dummy subject det
So we get:
- På oppgavearket står det også en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel.
The real “thing” that exists is «en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel», but grammatically «det» fills the subject position, just like English “there” in “There is a short explanation …”.
Yes, you can:
- På oppgavearket står også en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel.
This is grammatical and natural. Both versions are used in Norwegian:
- På oppgavearket står det også en kort forklaring …
- På oppgavearket står også en kort forklaring …
Nuance:
- The version with «det» is very common and feels neutral/standard in everyday language.
- The version without «det» can sound a bit more stylistic or written and puts a slightly clearer focus on «en kort forklaring» as the thing that is standing there.
For practical purposes as a learner, you can safely use either, but including «det» is often the safest default in sentences of this type.
In main clauses, the typical Norwegian word order is:
- First element (subject or something fronted)
- Finte verb (here: står)
- Subject (here: det)
- Mid-field adverbs (like «også», «ikke», «alltid»…)
- Objects and the rest
So you get:
- På oppgavearket (fronted element)
- står (verb in 2nd position)
- det (subject)
- også (adverb)
- en kort forklaring … (object/complement)
→ På oppgavearket står det også en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel.
You can move «også» to change the emphasis:
Også på oppgavearket står det en kort forklaring …
= Also *on the worksheet there is a short explanation …* (contrast between places)På oppgavearket står det en kort forklaring også.
= On the worksheet there is a short explanation *as well (in addition to something else).*
But the neutral placement of «også» as a mid-field adverb is after the subject and before the object, exactly as in the original sentence.
The noun «forklaring» (explanation) is common gender in Bokmål:
- en forklaring – a(n) explanation
- forklaringen – the explanation
You may see «ei forklaring» in some dialects or in more Nynorsk-like usage (since «forklaring» is feminine), but in standard Bokmål «en forklaring» is the recommended and safest form.
«et forklaring» would be wrong because «forklaring» is not neuter.
About the adjective:
- kort is the base form of the adjective “short.”
- In indefinite singular common gender, you use the base form:
- en kort forklaring – a short explanation
- So «en kort forklaring» is the regular, grammatically correct form in standard Bokmål.
Norwegian adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and definiteness. For «kort» (“short”), the main patterns are:
- Indefinite singular, common gender:
- en kort forklaring – a short explanation
- Indefinite singular, neuter:
- et kort brev – a short letter
- Indefinite plural (all genders):
- korte forklaringer – short explanations
- korte brev – short letters
- Definite (all genders, singular and plural):
- den korte forklaringen – the short explanation
- de korte forklaringene – the short explanations
So in «en kort forklaring», the form «kort» is exactly what you expect:
indefinite + singular + common gender → base form «kort».
«på hver grammatikkregel» literally means “on each grammar rule.”
Taken together with «en kort forklaring», we get:
- en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel
= a short explanation of each grammar rule
The collocation in Norwegian is:
- en forklaring på noe – an explanation of something
- en forklaring på problemet – an explanation of the problem
- en forklaring på regelen – an explanation of the rule
So «på» here is part of the fixed pattern «forklaring på …».
Using other prepositions would change the feel:
- forklaring om noe – more like “explanation about something” (topic)
- forklaring av noe – more technical, “exposition/analysis of something”
But the most natural way to say “an explanation of each grammar rule” is «en kort forklaring på hver grammatikkregel».
«Hver» and «hvert» both mean “each / every”, but they agree with the gender of the noun:
hver
- common gender noun (the “en/ei” words)
- hver grammatikkregel – each grammar rule
- hver bok – each book
- hver dag – every day
hvert
- neuter noun (the “et” words)
- hvert språk – each language
- hvert hus – each house
- hvert år – every year
Since «grammatikkregel» is a common gender noun:
- en grammatikkregel – a grammar rule
→ you must use «hver grammatikkregel», not «hvert grammatikkregel».
You cannot use «hver» (each/every) with a plural noun. It always takes singular:
- hver grammatikkregel – each grammar rule
- hver student – each student
- hvert språk – each language
So «hver grammatikkregler» is ungrammatical.
If you want to talk about all the rules in general, you use plural words like «alle»:
- alle grammatikkreglene – all the grammar rules
- en kort forklaring på alle grammatikkreglene – a short explanation of all the grammar rules
But with «hver», you must keep the noun singular:
hver grammatikkregel = each individual grammar rule.
«Grammatikkregel» is a compound noun:
- grammatikk – grammar
- regel – rule
→ grammatikkregel – grammar rule
In Norwegian, compounds are usually written as one word (not with a space, unlike English):
- språkregel – language rule
- klasserom – classroom
- lærebok – textbook
Declension of «grammatikkregel» (common gender):
- Singular indefinite: en grammatikkregel – a grammar rule
- Singular definite: grammatikkregelen – the grammar rule
- Plural indefinite: grammatikkregler – grammar rules
- Plural definite: grammatikkreglene – the grammar rules
In the sentence you gave, it appears as singular indefinite after «hver»:
- hver grammatikkregel – each grammar rule.