Unknown or known? en bil or bilen
You already know how to make bilen from en bil. But when do you say en bil, when bilen, and when just bil? Here are the everyday rules: first and second mention, jobs, «Jeg har bil», body and clothes.
We teach Bokmål, the written standard most people in Norway use.
In short: en bil is a car that's new to the listener. Bilen is a car you both know about. And sometimes the word stands completely alone: Jeg liker kaffe (I like coffee).
What is this about?
When you talk about something, the listener either knows which thing you mean or doesn't. A car is a new car in the story; the car is one we both know about. Many languages show this difference with little words, and some don't show it at all.
Norwegian shows it in two ways. A new thing gets en, ei or et in front: «Jeg kjøpte en bil i går» (I bought a car yesterday). A known thing gets an ending: «Bilen er rød» (the car is red). And sometimes there's no article at all: with jobs («Hun er lærer», she's a teacher), food and drink in general («Jeg liker kaffe», I like coffee) and things you have as a type («Har du bil?», do you have a car?).
English helps you with the idea, but not with the form. The is not a separate word in Norwegian, it's an ending: say «bilen», never «den bil». And English puts a before jobs, while Norwegian doesn't: «Hun er lærer», not «Hun er en lærer». You'll need this in the first minute of every conversation: introducing yourself («Jeg er sykepleier», I'm a nurse), ordering at a café («En kaffe, takk», a coffee, please) or complaining that «Kaffen er kald» (the coffee is cold).
Rules
- First mention: indefinite form. The listener doesn't know yet which thing you mean: Jeg kjøpte en bil i går (I bought a car yesterday).
- Second mention: definite form. Now everyone knows which car it is: Bilen er rød og nesten ny (The car is red and almost new).
- Det er, det står: new things are introduced with the indefinite form: Det er en katt i hagen (There's a cat in the garden). Det står en mann ved døra (A man is standing by the door).
- Things everyone knows: definite form, even the first time: Sola skinner (The sun is shining). Jeg må til legen (I have to go to the doctor). Barna er i barnehagen (The kids are at kindergarten).
- General statements: no article for food, drinks, materials and things you don't count: Jeg liker kaffe. Melk er sunt (Milk is healthy). Vi spiser fisk på fredager (We eat fish on Fridays).
- Plural: same logic. New or general without an ending, known with -ene: Jeg kjøper epler (I'm buying apples). Eplene er søte (The apples are sweet).
- Job, nationality, religion: no article after er and blir: Hun er lærer (She's a teacher). Jeg er latvier (I'm Latvian). Han er katolikk. Jeg vil bli sykepleier (I want to become a nurse).
- Har bil, har hund: when you talk about the type, not about one particular thing: Jeg har bil (I have a car). Har du hund? (Do you have a dog?) Vi tar buss til jobben.
- An adjective changes it: then en and et come back: Hun er en flink lærer (She's a good teacher). Jeg har en ny bil.
- Possessive after the noun: definite form: bilen min (my car), huset vårt, jakka di. If min stands before the noun, there's no ending: min bil (stronger, stressed).
- Body and clothes: often definite form without min or din: Jeg har vondt i hodet (I have a headache). Ta på deg jakka! (Put your jacket on!) Hun vasker hendene (She washes her hands).
- Test yourself: does the listener know which thing you mean? Yes → definite form. No → en, ei, et. Talking in general about food, materials or jobs → often no article.
Typical mistake: English puts «a» before jobs, so learners say «Hun er en lærer». In Norwegian it's Hun er lærer. And «the» is an ending, not a word: say bilen, not «den bil».
Examples
- Jeg kjøpte en bil i går. Bilen er rød.I bought a car yesterday. The car is red.
- Har du bil? Nei, jeg tar buss til jobben.Do you have a car? No, I take the bus to work.
- Hun er lærer på en skole i Drammen.She's a teacher at a school in Drammen.
- Jeg er latvier, men jeg bor i Bergen.I'm Latvian, but I live in Bergen.
- Jeg liker kaffe, men kaffen her er altfor sterk.I like coffee, but the coffee here is far too strong.
- Sola skinner, så vi går en tur i parken.The sun is shining, so we're going for a walk in the park.
- Jeg har vondt i hodet og må gå til legen.I have a headache and need to go to the doctor.
- Ta på deg jakka! Det er kaldt ute.Put your jacket on! It's cold outside.
- Bilen min står utenfor barnehagen.My car is parked outside the kindergarten.
- Vi kjøpte epler på butikken. Eplene var veldig søte.We bought apples at the shop. The apples were very sweet.