Difference between revisions of "The Noun Phrase - Norwegian"
Lars Hellan (Talk | contribs) |
Lars Hellan (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
No inflection, signifying ‘indefinite singular’ | No inflection, signifying ‘indefinite singular’ | ||
| + | |||
Single suffix for Plural, signifying ‘indefinite plural’ | Single suffix for Plural, signifying ‘indefinite plural’ | ||
| + | |||
Single suffix for Definite, signifying ‘definite singular’ | Single suffix for Definite, signifying ‘definite singular’ | ||
| + | |||
Single suffix for Definite Plural, signifying ‘definite plural’. | Single suffix for Definite Plural, signifying ‘definite plural’. | ||
Revision as of 20:04, 11 September 2011
The Noun
Norwegian common nouns undergo two types of inflection: for number, and for definiteness. The inflection for number reflects a distinction singular vs. plural, and resides in a suffix for plural vs. no marking for singular. The inflection for definiteness reflects a distinction ‘definite’ vs. ‘indefinite’, and resides in a suffix marking definiteness vs. no marking in the case of indefiniteness. When a noun is both definite and in plural, this is marked by a single suffix expressing the two values in combination. There are thus four possible forms of a common noun in Norwegian:
No inflection, signifying ‘indefinite singular’
Single suffix for Plural, signifying ‘indefinite plural’
Single suffix for Definite, signifying ‘definite singular’
Single suffix for Definite Plural, signifying ‘definite plural’.