Det er elleve stoler.

Det er is the normal Norwegian way to say that something exists or is present, so it often translates as there is/there are in English.

• Det literally means it
• er means is/are

So Det er elleve stoler is literally something like It is eleven chairs, but in natural English the meaning is There are eleven chairs.

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian:

• Det er en bil utenfor. = There is a car outside.
• Det er mange mennesker her. = There are many people here.

Because the verb is agreeing with det, not with stoler in the way an English learner might expect.

In Norwegian present tense, å være (to be) uses er for all persons and numbers:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han/hun er = he/she is
• vi er = we are
• de er = they are

So er stays the same whether the thing mentioned is singular or plural.

Norwegian does not change the present tense form of å være based on number the way English does.

English:

• there is
• there are

Norwegian:

• det er for both

So:

• Det er en stol. = There is a chair.
• Det er elleve stoler. = There are eleven chairs.

This is completely normal in Norwegian grammar.

The singular noun is en stol = a chair.

Its forms are:

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair
• stoler = chairs
• stolene = the chairs

So the plural here is made by adding -er:

• stol → stoler

This is a very common plural pattern for Norwegian nouns, though not all nouns follow exactly the same pattern.

Because when Norwegian uses a number, it normally does not use an article before the noun.

So you say:

• elleve stoler = eleven chairs
• to biler = two cars
• tre hus = three houses

This is similar to English, where we also say eleven chairs, not eleven the chairs or eleven some chairs.

Elleve is the number eleven, and it works as a quantifier: it tells you how many chairs there are.

In Det er elleve stoler:

• Det er = there are
• elleve = eleven
• stoler = chairs

So elleve modifies stoler.

Det er elleve stoler is the most normal and neutral way to say it.

You may see other word orders in special contexts, but they are not the basic pattern a learner should start with. For example, changing the word order can sound poetic, marked, or focused in a special way.

For everyday use, stick with:

• Det er + number + noun

Examples:

• Det er to vinduer.
• Det er fem bøker.
• Det er elleve stoler.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

deh(r) ehr EL-leh-veh STOO-ler

A few useful notes:

• det is often pronounced more like de in everyday speech
• er is often light and short
• elleve has the stress near the beginning
• stoler has stress on the first syllable: STO-ler

If you want a rougher natural-speech impression, many speakers may say something closer to: De er elleve stoler

But in writing, it is still Det er elleve stoler.

Sometimes in fast, casual speech, det may sound reduced, and you may hear something that sounds almost like de er. But for correct standard writing, you should keep det.

So:

• Written standard: Det er elleve stoler.
• Casual pronunciation: Det may sound weak or shortened

As a learner, it is best to write the full form and learn to recognize the reduced spoken version later.

Yes, stol is usually given as a masculine noun:

• en stol

That matters when you learn the full noun pattern:

• en stol
• stolen
• stoler
• stolene

But in this sentence, the gender is not very visible, because there is no article before stoler. The important thing here is mainly that stoler is the plural form.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in tone.

• Det er elleve stoler = There are eleven chairs.
  This is the normal, everyday way to state that eleven chairs are present.

• Det finnes elleve stoler = There exist eleven chairs.
  This is more about existence and can sound more formal or specific to context.

In ordinary conversation about what is in a room, Det er elleve stoler is the natural choice.

Then you would use the singular noun:

• Det er en stol. = There is one chair.

Compare:

• Det er en stol. = There is one chair.
• Det er elleve stoler. = There are eleven chairs.

So the main change is:

• en stol for singular
• elleve stoler for plural

Yes. Det er elleve stoler. is a complete, natural Norwegian sentence.

It works well as a simple statement, for example when:

• counting furniture
• describing a room
• answering a question like Hvor mange stoler er det? = How many chairs are there?

It is short, correct, and very typical Norwegian.