Hammeren ligger i skuffen, men jeg finner den ikke.

The hammer is in the drawer, but I can’t find it.

Breakdown of Hammeren ligger i skuffen, men jeg finner den ikke.

• jeg: I
• i: in
• men: but
• den: it

Questions & Answers about Hammeren ligger i skuffen, men jeg finner den ikke.

Why does hammer become hammeren?

Norwegian often uses the definite form as a suffix instead of a separate word like the in English.

• en hammer = a hammer (indefinite)
• hammeren = the hammer (definite, masculine)

Many common masculine nouns take -en in the definite singular.

Why is it skuffen and not en skuff?

Same idea: skuffen is the definite form (the drawer).

• en skuff = a drawer
• skuffen = the drawer

In this sentence, the speaker refers to a specific drawer (the one that’s relevant in the situation), so definite is natural.

Why does Norwegian use ligger (lies/is lying) instead of just er (is)?