"Han leser brev."

Translation: He is reading letters.

[andyzbenoit]

Is brev another word like barn that can be used as singular or plural depending on the context?

[Luke_5.1991]

Yes.

[tomhet93]

But, in this case, couldn't it mean "He is reading letter"?

[JusteParei]

In that case there would be an article before the word

[tu.8zPhLD72zzoZN]

Not any more than "He sees deer." would mean "He sees a deer." You would have to put the article for the singular. "et brev" indefinite singular or "brevet" definite singular, but "brev" by itself is indefinite plural.

[Dr.Luay]

That would be:
He's reading a letter = Han leser et brev

[Luke_5.1991]

That doesn't make sense.

[holstzsche]

what if in a negative sentence : han leser ikke et brev ( what a laaazy guy cruel truth like me : < )

[ThaliNilsen]

No, it means "He is reading letters".

[caromom97]

could you also say "han leser brever" ?

[ThaliNilsen]

No, the plural of "brev" is "brev".

[MarcelloS10]

Why is "he reads a letter" considered wrong?

[Max59328]

because there is no use of "a" in the sentence

[Unni-Kristin]

Because he reads several letters, not just one.

[DeFacto13]

How am I supposed to know that it's more then one letter? It's out of the context isn't it

[Max59328]

If there is only 1 letter, then you would use ett brev (one book) or a book (et brev). "He is reading book" makes no sense without multiple books.