Plantelyset står nær potteplanten.

The plant light is near the houseplant.

Breakdown of Plantelyset står nær potteplanten.

• nær: near
• stå: to stand
• potteplanten: the houseplant
• plantelyset: the plant light

Questions & Answers about Plantelyset står nær potteplanten.

Why is plantelyset written as one word?

Because Norwegian forms compounds very freely, much more often than English does. What English writes as plant light is normally written as a single word in Norwegian: plantelys.

In your sentence, plantelyset is:

• plantelys = plant light / grow light
• -et = the definite ending for a neuter noun

So:

• et plantelys = a plant light
• plantelyset = the plant light

Norwegian usually prefers one-word compounds where English often uses two words.

Why does the sentence use står instead of er?

Norwegian often uses position verbs where English simply uses is. The verb stå literally means stand, but it is also used to describe where something is placed.

So Plantelyset står nær potteplanten is literally something like:

• The plant light stands near the potted plant

But in natural English, you would usually say:

• The plant light is near the potted plant

This is very common in Norwegian:

• står for things that are upright or positioned in a standing way
• ligger for things lying down
• henger for things hanging

So står is not strange here at all.

Is nær a preposition here?