Adjectives: agreement
Adjectives change their ending to match the noun.
We teach BokmÄl, the written standard most people in Norway use.
What is this about?
An adjective is a describing word: big, small, new, old, nice. It tells you what a thing or a person is like. Without adjectives you can say «Jeg har en bil» (I have a car), but not which car.
In Norwegian the adjective changes a little to fit the noun it describes. You say «en stor bil» (a big car), but «et stort hus» (a big house) and «to store biler» (two big cars). When you talk about one particular thing, a small word comes in front as well: «den store bilen» means the big car we already know about. So the adjective follows the noun around like a shadow.
In English the adjective never changes: a big car, a big house, big cars. That's why most learners forget the -t and the -e at first. The good news is that there are only a few endings, they are regular, and you hear them all day. You'll need them in the shop («et rÞdt eple», a red apple), when you describe your flat («et lite soverom», a small bedroom) or talk about work («den nye sjefen», the new boss).
Rules
- en/ei word: no ending â en stor bil (a big car).
- et word: add -t â et stort hus (a big house).
- Plural and definite form: add -e â store biler, den store bilen, det store huset.
- In the definite form you need den/det/de before the adjective: den nye jobben (the new job).
Examples
- Jeg har en ny jobb.I have a new job.
- Det er et fint hus.It is a nice house.
- De gamle bilene stÄr ute.The old cars are outside.
- Det er kaldt i dag, sÄ ta pÄ deg en varm jakke.It's cold today, so put on a warm jacket.
- Leiligheten vÄr er liten, men lys.Our flat is small but bright.
- Vi trenger et nytt bord og to rĂžde stoler.We need a new table and two red chairs.
- Den nye kollegaen min kommer fra Litauen.My new colleague is from Lithuania.
- Det gule huset ved butikken er til salgs.The yellow house by the shop is for sale.