Publikumsinngangen er ved scenen.

The audience entrance is by the stage.

Breakdown of Publikumsinngangen er ved scenen.

• være: to be
• ved: by
• scenen: the stage
• publikumsinngangen: the audience entrance

Questions & Answers about Publikumsinngangen er ved scenen.

Why is publikumsinngangen written as one long word?

Because Norwegian normally writes compound nouns as one word, where English often uses two or more.

So:

• publikum = audience / public
• inngang = entrance

Together they become publikumsinngang = audience entrance / public entrance

In the sentence, it appears as publikumsinngangen, which is the definite form: the audience entrance.

This is very common in Norwegian:

• togstasjon = train station
• barneskole = primary school
• bussjåfør = bus driver

If you split compounds incorrectly in Norwegian, it can look unnatural or even change the meaning.

What is the -s- doing in publikumsinngangen?

The -s- is a linking element used in some Norwegian compounds.

Here the structure is:

• publikum
• -s-
• inngangen

So:

• publikumsinngang = audience entrance
• publikumsinngangen = the audience entrance

This -s- often feels a bit like an English possessive idea, as in the audience’s entrance, but in Norwegian it is just part of how some compounds are formed. It does not mean the noun is separately marked as possessive in the sentence.

You will see this in many compounds, but not all:

• arbeidsdag = workday
• byliv = city life
• dødsfall = death

Unfortunately, whether a compound takes a linking sound like -s- often has to be learned word by word.