Vi setter sykkelen i garasjen.

We put the bicycle in the garage.

Breakdown of Vi setter sykkelen i garasjen.

• vi: we
• i: in
• sykkelen: the bicycle
• sette: to put
• garasjen: the garage

Questions & Answers about Vi setter sykkelen i garasjen.

What exactly does the verb setter mean here, and is it natural with a bicycle?

Å sette means “to put/place,” typically so the thing ends up standing. With a bike (often on its kickstand), Vi setter sykkelen i garasjen is natural. If you lay the bike on its side, you’d use legge instead. Note that sette is transitive and needs a direct object (here: sykkelen).

When should I use sette, legge, stille, plassere, or parkere?

• sette: neutral “put/place,” often so it stands. Very common: sette koppen på bordet, sette sykkelen i garasjen.
• legge: “lay” horizontally: legge boken på bordet. With a bike, only if you intentionally lay it down.
• stille: “set/position (upright),” or “adjust”: stille flasken, stille klokka. Less common with bikes.
• plassere: neutral/formal “place”: plassere sykkelen i garasjen.
• parkere: for vehicles: parkere sykkelen i garasjen is very natural.
• Useful phrasal: sette fra seg (“put down/leave”): Vi setter fra oss sykkelen i garasjen.

Why do both nouns take the definite ending -en (sykkelen, garasjen)?

Norwegian often uses the definite form for specific, known items/places. Here, it’s a particular bike and a particular garage. Using indefinites (en sykkel, en garasje) would sound like you’re talking about some non-specific bike/garage (more like a textbook example than normal speech).

What are the genders and common forms of sykkel and garasje?

• sykkel (masculine): en sykkel, sykkelen; plural sykler, syklene.
• garasje (masculine): en garasje, garasjen; plural garasjer, garasjene.

Why is it i garasjen and not inn i garasjen or til garasjen?

• i focuses on the final location (in/inside): with “put”-type verbs, i is idiomatic: Sett sykkelen i garasjen.
• inn i emphasizes movement into: Sett sykkelen inn i garasjen (also correct, adds clarity/contrast).
• til means “to (up to)”: Vi drar sykkelen til garasjen implies going to the garage, not necessarily inside.

Could I say på garasjen?

Only if you literally mean “on top of the garage.” For being inside the building, use i. Note: some locations in Norwegian take på idiomatically (e.g., på kjøkkenet), but a garage is normally i garasjen.

Can I start the sentence with the place, like I garasjen setter vi sykkelen?

Yes. Norwegian main clauses are verb-second (V2). If you front the place phrase (I garasjen), the finite verb (setter) still comes second:

• I garasjen setter vi sykkelen.
  You can also front the object for emphasis: Sykkelen setter vi i garasjen.

Where does the negation ikke go?

After the finite verb in a main clause:

• Vi setter ikke sykkelen i garasjen.
  For contrast, you can place ikke with the phrase you’re negating:
• Vi setter sykkelen ikke i garasjen, men i boden.

How do you pronounce sykkelen and garasjen?

• sykkelen: roughly “SYK-ke-len.” IPA: [ˈsʏkːələn]. The y is a front rounded vowel (like French u in “tu”).
• garasjen: roughly “ga-RAH-shen.” IPA: [ɡɑˈrɑːʃən]. sj is like English “sh.”

What’s the difference between å sette, å sitte, and å sette seg?

• å sette: to put/place (transitive): Vi setter sykkelen i garasjen.
• å sitte: to sit/be seated (intransitive): Vi sitter i garasjen.
• å sette seg: to sit down (reflexive): Vi setter oss i garasjen. (We sit down in the garage.)
  Don’t say sykkelen sitter; objects don’t “sit.”

How do you conjugate å sette (and how does it differ from å sitte)?

• sette: present setter, preterite satte, perfect har satt.
• sitte: present sitter, preterite satt, perfect har sittet.
  Note the overlap satt:
• Vi har satt sykkelen i garasjen. (We have put…)
• Vi satt i garasjen. (We sat/were sitting…)

Are there alternative, possibly more natural ways to say this?

Yes, depending on nuance:

• Vi parkerer sykkelen i garasjen. (Very common for vehicles.)
• Vi setter fra oss sykkelen i garasjen. (We put it down/leave it there.)
• Vi triller sykkelen inn i garasjen. (We roll the bike into the garage.)
  Use legge only if you actually put the bike down horizontally.

Can I drop vi? What happens if I say Setter sykkelen i garasjen?

You normally cannot drop the subject in Norwegian. Setter sykkelen i garasjen would be read as an imperative without a subject: Sett sykkelen i garasjen! (Give a command.) Keep vi for a normal declarative sentence.