Den lange forklaringen kan forvirre barna.

The long explanation can confuse the children.

Breakdown of Den lange forklaringen kan forvirre barna.

• barnet: the child
• lang: long
• kunne: can
• den: the

Questions & Answers about Den lange forklaringen kan forvirre barna.

Why is it den lange forklaringen and not den lang forklaring?

Two things are happening:

1. Definite noun

   • forklaring = an explanation (indefinite)
   • forklaringen = the explanation (definite, with the ending -en)

2. Adjective agreement in the definite form
   In Norwegian, when an adjective comes before a definite noun, the adjective gets an extra -e, and you also add den / det / de in front:

   • en lang forklaring = a long explanation
   • den lange forklaringen = the long explanation

So you need:

• den (definite article in front)
• lange (adjective in definite form)
• forklaringen (noun in definite form)

den lang forklaring is incorrect because:

• lang should be lange before a definite noun
• forklaring should be forklaringen when you mean the explanation

What gender is forklaring / forklaringen, and why does it end in -en?