Many words that indicate currencies and measurements do not have a suffix in the plural: en euro – euro, en dollar – dollar en meter – meter, en liter – liter
a euro – euros, a dollar – dollars a meter – meters, a litre – litres
There are additional exceptions from these patterns, and on page 134 you will find a more detailed description of these.
2.4 Definite form Mordet i prestegården
The Murder at the Vicarage
(Agatha Christie)
As in English, Norwegian has a definite form, but Norwegian has one very crucial difference to most other European languages. Norwegian is in a rather exclusive club of languages that indicate the definite form not by the use of a separate word, like the English the, the French la/le/les or the German die/der/das, but instead by opting for the use of a suffix.
Singular
In the singular definite form, the suffix depends on the gender of the word in question. Any final -e will be removed before the addition of the suffix: M: F: N:
-en: gutten, kongen, euroen -a: jenta, sola, klokka -et: huset, eplet, vinduet
the boy, the king, the euro the girl, the sun, the clock/watch the house, the apple, the window
Feminine modesty is evident in the definite form, since the masculine ending is acceptable in feminine words. It is entirely acceptable to write and to say klokken, solen etc., but outside of Bergen and the west end of Oslo, many people would perceive this form as formal and conservative, perhaps too much so. Please note that in the definite form of the neuter noun, the final -t is silent.
Plural
In the plural, most words take the suffix -ene in the definite form: M: guttene, koppene, kongene F: dørene, jentene, klokkene N: husene, eplene, landene
the boys, the cups, the kings the doors, the girls, the clocks the houses, the apples, the countries
Descriptions of people that end in -er (which, as you will remember, take the suffix -e in the indefinite plural form), take -ne in the definite plural form: bakerne, amerikanerne, lærerne
the bakers, the Americans, the teachers
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