Vaksinen er viktig.

The vaccine is important.

Breakdown of Vaksinen er viktig.

• være: to be
• viktig: important
• vaksinen: the vaccine

Questions & Answers about Vaksinen er viktig.

Why is it vaksinen and not vaksine?

Because vaksinen is the definite form of the noun, meaning the vaccine.

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front:

• en vaksine = a vaccine
• vaksinen = the vaccine

Here, -en is the definite ending for many masculine nouns.

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Why isn’t there a separate word for the?

In Norwegian, the is usually expressed by a suffix on the noun.

So instead of:

• the vaccine

Norwegian usually says:

• vaksinen

This is very common in Scandinavian languages. English uses a separate article, but Norwegian often adds the definiteness directly to the noun.

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Is vaksine a masculine noun? Can it ever be feminine?