Katten er tam.

to be

Breakdown of Katten er tam.

• katten: the cat
• tam: tame

Questions & Answers about Katten er tam.

Why is it katten and not katt?

Katt means a cat in the indefinite form.

Katten means the cat in the definite form. In Norwegian, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun rather than using a separate word like the.

So:

• en katt = a cat
• katten = the cat

In this sentence, Katten er tam, the speaker is talking about a specific cat: The cat is tame.

What does er mean?

Er means is / am / are.

It is the present tense of the verb å være (to be).

Examples:

• Jeg er = I am
• Du er = you are
• Katten er = the cat is

Unlike English, Norwegian uses the same present-tense form er with all subjects.

What does tam mean exactly?