Såbrettet står i drivhuset.

Because Norwegian very often forms nouns as compounds, where English might use two or more words.

• så = sow / sowing
• brett = tray

So såbrett means seed tray or sowing tray, and såbrettet means the seed tray.

This is extremely common in Norwegian. The last part of the compound is the main noun, and the earlier part describes it.

The ending -et is the definite article attached to the noun. Instead of using a separate word like English the, Norwegian usually adds the definiteness to the end of the noun.

Here:

• et såbrett = a seed tray
• såbrettet = the seed tray

This happens because såbrett is a neuter noun.

You can tell from the indefinite article:

• et såbrett = a seed tray

In Norwegian, common noun genders are often shown by the article:

• en for many masculine nouns
• ei/en for feminine nouns
• et for neuter nouns

Since the base noun is brett, and brett is neuter, the whole compound såbrett is also neuter. In compounds, the last element decides the gender.

So:

• et brett
• et såbrett
• såbrettet

This is a very common question, because Norwegian uses position verbs more than English does.

stå literally means stand, but Norwegian often uses it for objects that are located somewhere in an upright or resting position. So:

• Såbrettet står i drivhuset = The seed tray is in the greenhouse

Even though English usually says is, Norwegian often prefers står, ligger, or henger, depending on how something is positioned.

Very roughly:

• står = stands / is standing
• ligger = lies / is lying
• henger = hangs / is hanging

For a tray placed somewhere, står is natural.

Yes, you could, but it changes the feel a little.

• Såbrettet er i drivhuset focuses more on location in a general sense: the seed tray is in the greenhouse.
• Såbrettet står i drivhuset sounds more natural if you are thinking about the tray as a physical object placed there.

In many everyday situations, Norwegian prefers the more specific verb står.

Because drivhuset means the greenhouse.

Just like såbrettet, drivhuset has the definite ending -et:

• et drivhus = a greenhouse
• drivhuset = the greenhouse

So:

• i et drivhus = in a greenhouse
• i drivhuset = in the greenhouse

It is another compound noun:

• drive historically relates to forcing or driving growth
• hus = house

So drivhus is the Norwegian word for greenhouse.

Again, it is written as one word, which is normal in Norwegian compounds.

Because Norwegian usually puts definiteness on the noun itself.

So instead of:

• English: the seed tray, the greenhouse

Norwegian has:

• såbrettet
• drivhuset

That is why you do not see a separate word like English the.

The word order is very straightforward:

• Såbrettet = subject
• står = verb
• i drivhuset = prepositional phrase showing location

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Place

This is the normal word order for a simple statement in Norwegian.

står is present tense.

The infinitive is stå = to stand.

A few useful forms are:

• å stå = to stand
• står = stands / is standing
• sto = stood
• har stått = has stood

In this sentence, står is present tense: the tray stands / is in the greenhouse.

That would be:

Et såbrett står i et drivhus.

Compare:

• Et såbrett = a seed tray
• Såbrettet = the seed tray
• et drivhus = a greenhouse
• drivhuset = the greenhouse

So the original sentence is definite in both nouns: Såbrettet står i drivhuset.

A learner usually does best by thinking of it in parts:

• så sounds roughly like so but with a Norwegian å sound
• brett has a short vowel and a strong tt
• såbrettet is pronounced as one word, with the stress mainly on the first part

A helpful way to approach it is to practice:

• så
• brett
• såbrett
• såbrettet

The same goes for drivhuset:

• driv
• hus
• drivhuset

Since Norwegian compounds are single words, it helps to get used to hearing and saying them as a unit.

Yes. It sounds normal and idiomatic.

What makes it especially natural is:

• the use of compound nouns: såbrettet, drivhuset
• the use of står for the location of an object
• simple, standard word order

So this is a good example of how Norwegian often expresses everyday physical location.