Grisen og levemåten hans

The present tense in Norwegian is used to express actions or states that are currently happening or are general truths. It's formed by adding -er to the infinitive of most verbs, although there are irregular verbs that do not follow this pattern. The present tense in Norwegian is straightforward to use and is the same for all subjects (I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they), which makes it easier to learn than in some other languages.

Examples from the text:

• "Hesten spiser havre, kua spiser gress, og de sover på et tørt sted" (The horse eats oats, the cow eats grass, and they sleep in a dry place) - "spiser" (eats) and "sover" (sleep) are both in the present tense, indicating ongoing actions. Here, "spiser" follows the regular pattern for forming the present tense, adding -er to the infinitive "å spise."
• "Jeg spiser rester og sover i gjørme" (I eat leftovers and sleep in mud) - Similar to the previous example, "spiser" and "sover" are used to describe the pig's current conditions in the present tense.

Adjectives in Norwegian modify nouns and must agree in gender, number, and definiteness with the nouns they describe. This agreement affects the ending of the adjective. In Norwegian, adjectives can appear in their indefinite form (when used with an indefinite article or no article) or definite form (when used with a definite article or in a possessive structure). The placement and form of adjectives are crucial for conveying the correct information and maintaining the grammatical integrity of a sentence.

Examples from the text:

• "en gang en gris som ikke likte livet sitt og ville ha det bedre" (once a pig who didn't like his life and wanted it to be better) - "bedre" (better) is a comparative adjective used here in its basic form, describing the pig's desire for a more favorable life situation.
• "de sover på et tørt sted" (they sleep in a dry place) - The adjective "tørt" (dry) is in its neuter singular form to agree with "sted" (place), which is a neuter noun. This agreement indicates the condition of the place where they sleep.
• "Er det rettferdig?" (Is it fair?) - The adjective "rettferdig" (fair) is used in its base form here, as part of a question. It doesn't modify a noun directly but is used predicatively to inquire about the fairness of the situation described, reflecting on the condition of the pig's life compared to the other animals.

Prepositions are used to express relationships between words in a sentence, indicating location, direction, time, and other relations. The meaning of a sentence can significantly change depending on the preposition used. Norwegian prepositions are fixed and must be memorized, as they often don't translate directly to English prepositions one-to-one.

Examples from the text:

• "Han dro til retten og klaget over sitt levebrød" (He went to court and complained about his livelihood) - The preposition "til" (to) indicates direction, showing the pig's movement towards the court. "Over" (about) indicates the subject of the complaint, connecting the action of complaining with the reason behind it.
• "etter å ha sjekket bøkene sine, bestemte han at grisen skulle ha et bedre liv" (after checking his books, he decided that the pig should have a better life) - "etter" (after) indicates a sequence of actions, showing that the decision came after checking the books.
• "og sove i en silkeseng" (and sleep in a silk bed) - The preposition "i" (in) is used here to indicate the location or condition in which the pig will sleep, specifying that it is inside or within a silk bed.
• "På veien hjem overhørte reven dette og bestemte seg for å lure grisen" (On the way home, the fox overheard this and decided to trick the pig) - "På" (on) indicates the location or the surface of the path home, while "for" (to) is used here as part of the phrasal verb "bestemte seg for" (decided to), indicating the purpose of the decision.