Fottaket ligger ved starttaket.

Because they are in the singular definite form: the foothold and the starting hold.

For neuter nouns in Norwegian, the definite singular ending is usually -et:

• et fottak = a foothold
• fottaket = the foothold
• et starttak = a starting hold
• starttaket = the starting hold

So the -et works like English the, but attached to the noun.

In Norwegian, the is usually added to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word.

So:

• fottaket = the foothold
• starttaket = the starting hold

This is one of the biggest differences from English. A native English speaker often expects something like the fottak, but Norwegian normally uses the suffix instead.

The basic, dictionary-style forms are:

• fottak
• starttak

These are the indefinite singular forms. If you want to say a foothold or a starting hold, you would normally say:

• et fottak
• et starttak

Then the definite forms are:

• fottaket
• starttaket

Ligger is the present tense of å ligge, and Norwegian often uses it when talking about where something is physically located.

So ligger can mean:

• lies
• is situated
• is located

In English, we usually just say is, but Norwegian often prefers a more specific verb for position or location.

So:

• Fottaket ligger ved starttaket
  sounds more natural than
• Fottaket er ved starttaket

The version with er is understandable, but ligger is more idiomatic here.

Ved means something like:

• by
• near
• next to
• at

It tells you that the foothold is located close to the starting hold.

It does not necessarily mean that they are touching. It just places one thing in the area of the other.

They are compound nouns, which are extremely common in Norwegian.

• fot
  • tak = fottak
• start
  • tak = starttak

In climbing vocabulary, tak means a hold. So these words are built very literally:

• fottak = foot + hold
• starttak = start + hold

A learner should get used to Norwegian making long compound nouns like this.

Because the first part ends in t and the second part begins with t, and both consonants stay in the spelling.

So:

• fot
  • tak → fottak
• start
  • tak → starttak

This is normal in Norwegian compounds. English speakers sometimes expect one t to disappear, but it usually does not.

They are neuter nouns.

You can tell from the indefinite article:

• et fottak
• et starttak

A useful rule is that compound nouns usually take the gender of the last part. Here the last part is tak, so the whole compound behaves like a neuter noun.

That is why the definite form ends in -et.

Yes. It follows normal Norwegian statement word order:

• Fottaket = subject
• ligger = verb
• ved starttaket = prepositional phrase showing location

So the structure is basically:

subject + verb + location

Also, Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second pattern, and this sentence fits that perfectly: the finite verb ligger comes in the second position.

No. Tak can have different meanings depending on context.

In a climbing context, tak means a hold.
In other contexts, tak can also mean roof.

So a learner may be confused at first, but the compound usually makes the meaning clear:

• fottak = foothold
• starttak = starting hold

Context is very important with this word.

Probably not naturally, because fottak and starttak strongly suggest climbing vocabulary.

Even if a learner already knows the general grammar, it is useful to notice that this sentence belongs to a specific domain. That helps explain why tak here means hold, not roof or some other meaning.