Lagerboden er tom.

to be

Breakdown of Lagerboden er tom.

• tom: empty
• lagerboden: the storage unit

Questions & Answers about Lagerboden er tom.

Why is lagerboden written as one word?

Because Norwegian forms compound nouns very freely. Lagerboden is made from:

• lager = storage / stock / warehouse
• bod = shed / small room / storage room

Together, lagerbod means something like storage shed, stockroom, or storage room, depending on context.

Then lagerboden is the definite form: the storage room / the stockroom.

This is very normal in Norwegian. Where English often uses multiple words, Norwegian often prefers one compound word.

What does the ending -en in lagerboden mean?

The ending -en marks the noun as definite singular for many masculine/common-gender nouns in Bokmål.

So:

• en lagerbod = a storage room
• lagerboden = the storage room

Unlike English, Norwegian often puts the equivalent of the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Why isn’t there a separate word for the?

Because in Norwegian, definiteness is usually built into the noun itself.

Compare:

• English: the storage room
• Norwegian: lagerboden

That -en already carries the meaning of the.

This is one of the biggest structural differences from English. In simple sentences like this, Norwegian usually does not add a separate article before the noun.