Word
Skittentøyet ligger på gulvet, og jeg setter på vaskemaskinen.
Meaning
The dirty laundry is on the floor, and I start the washing machine.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Skittentøyet ligger på gulvet, og jeg setter på vaskemaskinen.
Why does skittentøyet end with -et?
Because it’s the definite form of a neuter noun. tøy (clothes/cloth) is neuter, so:
- indefinite: skittentøy (dirty laundry)
- definite: skittentøyet (the dirty laundry)
You normally don’t use an article with the mass noun tøy (you wouldn’t say “et tøy”).
Where does the extra t in skittentøy come from?
It’s from adjective agreement. skitten (dirty) becomes skittent in the neuter singular to match tøy (which is neuter). In the phrase “skittent tøy,” the space disappears in the compound, giving skittentøy.
Could I say Skittentøyet er på gulvet instead of ligger?
Yes, it’s grammatical, but ligger is more idiomatic because Norwegian prefers “position verbs” for where things are:
- ligger = lies (things lying flat, e.g., clothes, a book)
- står = stands (upright things, e.g., a bottle)
- sitter = sits (things or people sitting)
So “Skittentøyet ligger på gulvet” sounds more natural than “er på gulvet.”
When do I use ligger, står, and sitter?