Sitteplanen ligger på bordet.

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Breakdown of Sitteplanen ligger på bordet.

• bordet: the table
• ligge: to lie (be located)
• sitteplanen: the seating plan

Questions & Answers about Sitteplanen ligger på bordet.

What does sitteplanen mean, and why does it end in -en?

Sitteplanen is the definite singular form of sitteplan, meaning the seating plan or the seating chart.

The ending -en works like the English word the for many Norwegian nouns:

• en sitteplan = a seating plan
• sitteplanen = the seating plan

So Norwegian often puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Why is there no separate word for the before sitteplanen?

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

In English:

• the seating plan

In Norwegian:

• sitteplanen

That -en already includes the meaning of the, so you do not add another article in a simple sentence like this.

Why is it ligger and not er?

Norwegian often uses position verbs where English simply uses is.

Here, ligger is the present tense of ligge, which means lies or is lying. It is commonly used for things that are resting horizontally or flat somewhere.

So:

• Sitteplanen ligger på bordet = literally The seating plan lies on the table
• Natural English meaning: The seating plan is on the table

Using er would be less specific. Ligge sounds more natural when talking about an object placed on a surface.