Kaffen er altfor varm.

to be

Breakdown of Kaffen er altfor varm.

• kaffen: the coffee
• varm: hot
• altfor: far too; excessively

Questions & Answers about Kaffen er altfor varm.

Why does kaffen end in -en?

Because -en is the definite article attached to the noun.
The base noun is kaffe = coffee, and kaffen = the coffee.

This is very common in Norwegian:

• en kaffe = a coffee
• kaffen = the coffee

So instead of a separate word like English the, Norwegian often adds the definite ending to the noun.

Why is it er in the middle?

Er is the present tense of å være = to be.

So:

• kaffen = the coffee
• er = is
• altfor varm = much too hot / far too hot

In a normal Norwegian main clause, the verb usually comes in the second position. That is why er comes right after the subject here.

What does altfor mean?