2.2 The use of the indefinite article Apart from the fact that there are three, and that they are determined by gender, Norwegian articles are not very different from those in English. Their usage is mainly the same: Jeg har kjøpt ei jakke, en genser I have bought a jacket, a sweater, og et skjerf. and a scarf. En lærer må være tålmodig. A teacher must be patient. Hun er gift med en student. She’s married to a student. Some differences do exist, however. Native English speakers have a tendency to add an article to their Norwegian sentences where no article should be. This applies, in particular, to classifying descriptions: Jeg er student. Jeg vil bli oversetter. Hun er lærer, og han er ingeniør. Kari er katolikk. Naboen min er svenske. Han er blitt bestefar.
I am a student. I want to be a translator. She’s a teacher, and he’s an engineer. Kari’s a Catholic. My neighbour is a Swede. He has become a grandfather.
This applies to neutral, factual classifications. If you claim to be et geni (a genius), or accuse your spouse of being en pedant – then we are dealing with more subjective characteristics, and in those cases, Norwegian does use the indefinite article: Jeg er et geni. Du er en pedant.
I am a genius. You are a pedant.
Norwegian also uses an article if a descriptive adjective is used before a classifying noun: Jeg er en flittig student. Hun er en dyktig lærer.
I am a hard-working student. She is a skilled teacher.
Articles are also left out in the case of classifying words that follow som (as): Som lege vil jeg si at … As a doctor I would say that … Jeg bodde i USA som barn. I lived in the USA as a child. Portrett av kunstneren som ung mann A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
(James Joyce)
Though context will generally save you, if you use an article in these expressions that use som, you risk altering the meaning: Hun uttalte seg som lærer. She gave her opinion as a teacher. Hun uttalte seg som en lærer. She talked like a teacher. Han gråt mye som barn. He cried a lot as a child. Han gråt som et barn. He cried like a child. 19