Fellesarealet er stengt.

The common area is closed.

Breakdown of Fellesarealet er stengt.

• være: to be
• stengt: closed
• fellesarealet: the common area

Questions & Answers about Fellesarealet er stengt.

Why is fellesarealet one long word?

Because Norwegian very often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

• felles = shared, common
• areal = area
• fellesareal = common area / shared area
• fellesarealet = the common area

So where English uses two words, Norwegian often uses one compound word instead.

Why does fellesarealet end in -et?

The ending -et marks the noun as definite singular for a neuter noun.

Here is the pattern:

• et areal = an area
• arealet = the area
• et fellesareal = a common area
• fellesarealet = the common area

So the English word the is often attached to the end of the noun in Norwegian instead of standing in front of it.

How do I know that areal is a neuter noun?

You learn it from the dictionary form or article:

• et areal = a/an area

The article et tells you it is neuter. That matters because neuter nouns affect other words in the sentence, such as adjectives and participles.

That is also why the sentence has stengt and not stengt/stengte in some other form.

What does er mean here?