Stuen er lys om morgenen.

The living room is bright in the morning.

Breakdown of Stuen er lys om morgenen.

• være: to be
• morgenen: the morning
• om: in
• stuen: the living room
• lys: bright

Questions & Answers about Stuen er lys om morgenen.

Why is stuen in the definite form? Could we use the indefinite en stue instead?

Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun. stuen = “the living room.” We use the definite form here because we’re talking about a specific living room (e.g. the one in your house). If you want to speak about any living room in general, you would say:

• En stue er lys om morgenen. (“A living room is bright in the morning.”)

---

What does om morgenen mean, and why not i morgen?

• om morgenen = “in the morning” (habitual/general statement about mornings).
• i morgen = “tomorrow.”
  So
• Stuen er lys om morgenen. means “The living room is bright in the morning” (as a recurring fact).
• I morgen er stuen lys. would mean “Tomorrow the living room will be bright.”

---

Why do we use om here? Is it a preposition?

Yes. In Bokmål, om is the standard preposition for talking about habitual times of day:

• om morgenen (“in the morning”)
• om ettermiddagen (“in the afternoon”)
• om kvelden (“in the evening”)
• om natten (“at night”)
  You don’t drop om, and you generally don’t use på for these time expressions.

---

Why is the adjective lys not lyst?

Norwegian adjectives agree in gender and number when they follow a copula (like er).

• Stue is common gender → predicative form = lys.
• A neuter noun would take lyst:
  
  • Rommet er lyst om morgenen. (“The room is bright in the morning.”)
• Plural uses lyse:
  
  • Stuer er lyse om morgenen. (“Living rooms are bright in the morning.”)

---

Can I rearrange the word order to emphasize “in the morning”?

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 rule (verb in second position). If you put the time phrase first, the verb stays second:

• Om morgenen er stuen lys. (“In the morning, the living room is bright.”)

---

How do you pronounce om morgenen?

Approximate IPA: [ɔm ˈmɔrɡənən].
Tips:

• om with an open “o” as in English “off.”
• Roll or tap the r in morgenen if possible.
• The stress falls on the first syllable: MOR-ge-nen.

---

How do I talk about multiple living rooms?

Use the plural forms of noun and adjective:

• Indefinite plural: Stuer er lyse om morgenen. (“Living rooms are bright in the morning.”)
• Definite plural: Stuene er lyse om morgenen. (“The living rooms are bright in the morning.”)

---

Can I use hver morgen instead of om morgenen?

Yes. hver morgen means “every morning,” emphasizing each single morning:

• Stuen er lys hver morgen. (“The living room is bright every morning.”)
  om morgenen simply states a general pattern without stressing “each individual” morning.