4.10 Use of Indefinite Article
When is there no article at all?
- No article is used when categorizing people by nationality, profession, age or religion:
Kari er nordmann. (Kari is a Norwegian.)
Erik er lege. (Erik is a doctor)
However, if you are adding an adjective to evaluate or characterize, (rather than categorize), an indefinite article is used.
Erik er en god lege. (Erik is a good doctor)
Anne er en snill lærer. (Anne is a nice teacher.)
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Categorizing,
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Evaluating |
| Nationality | Bjørn er nordmann. (Bjørn is a Norwegian) |
Bjørn er en god nordmann. (Bjørn is a good Norwegian.) |
| Profession | Eva er lege. (Eva is a doctor.) Guri er pensjonert lærer. (Guri is a retired teacher.) |
Eva er en dyktig lege. (Eva is a competent doctor.) Guri er en god lærer. (Guri is a good teacher.) |
| Age | Som barn reiste han til Oslo. (As a child he traveled to Oslo.) Som 15-åring dro han til Amerika. (As a 15-year old he went to America.) Han er tenåring. (He is a teenager.) |
Han var et veldig søtt barn. (He was a very sweet child.) Han er en veldig umoden 15-åring. (He is a very immature 15-year-old.) Han er en typisk tenåring. (He is a typical teenager) |
| Religion | Jonas er katolikk. (Jonas is a Catholic.) |
Jonas er en ivrig katolikk. (Bjørn is an ardent Catholic.) |