Hunden venter framfor døren.

The dog is waiting in front of the door.

Breakdown of Hunden venter framfor døren.

• hunden: the dog
• døren: the door
• vente: to wait
• framfor: in front of

Questions & Answers about Hunden venter framfor døren.

Why is there no separate word for the before hunden and døren?

In Norwegian Bokmål, the definite article is not a separate word as in English. Instead, you attach it as a suffix to the noun.

• hund (dog) → hunden (the dog)
• dør (door) → døren (the door)

How do you form the indefinite and definite forms of nouns like hund and dør?

Norwegian nouns have four basic forms (for singular/plural and indefinite/definite). Using hund and dør as examples:

1. Indefinite singular: en hund, en dør
2. Definite singular: hunden, døren (add -en)
3. Indefinite plural: hunder, dører (add -er)
4. Definite plural: hundene, dørene (add -ene)

What does venter mean, and how do you conjugate the verb vente in the present tense and other common tenses?

venter is the present-tense form of å vente (to wait).

• Present: jeg venter (I wait / I am waiting)
• Past: jeg ventet (I waited)
• Perfect: jeg har ventet (I have waited)
• Future: jeg skal vente (I will wait)

What is the difference between framfor and foran when expressing location?

Both framfor and foran mean “in front of,” but there are slight stylistic and regional preferences:

• foran is more common in everyday spoken Norwegian.
• framfor appears frequently in written language or certain dialects.
  Functionally, they’re interchangeable for location:
    Hunden venter foran døren.
    Hunden venter framfor døren.

Can framfor have other meanings besides “in front of”?

Yes. Apart from spatial use, framfor can mean “rather than” or “instead of” in expressions like:
  Jeg ville heller gå til fots framfor å ta bussen.
  I would rather walk instead of taking the bus.

Could you use an alternative preposition instead of framfor to express “at the door” or “by the door”?

Yes, depending on nuance:

• ved døren = at/by the door, emphasizing closeness:
    Hunden venter ved døren.
• ute foran døren = outside in front of the door:
    Hunden venter ute foran døren.

How would you modify this sentence if there were multiple dogs waiting in front of multiple doors?

You change both nouns to their plural forms and keep the definite suffix:
  Hundene venter framfor dørene.
(“The dogs are waiting in front of the doors.”)

How would you say “A dog is waiting in front of the door” using indefinite forms?

Switch both nouns to indefinite:
  En hund venter framfor en dør.

Why is the prepositional phrase framfor døren placed after venter, and could you move it for emphasis?

In Norwegian main clauses, the normal word order is Subject–Verb–Adverbial (including prepositional phrases). Thus framfor døren follows venter.
For emphasis or stylistic variation, you can front the prepositional phrase, but remember to keep the verb in second position (V2 rule):
  Framfor døren venter hunden.
This inversion stresses “in front of the door.”