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Questions & Answers about Døren er låst nå.
Why is it døren instead of using a separate word for “the”?
Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix.
- dør = door (indefinite)
- døren or døra = the door (definite) You only add a separate determiner (den) when there’s an adjective: den låste døren (the locked door). Without an adjective, you normally don’t use den.
Is dør masculine or feminine in Bokmål?
Both are allowed:
- Masculine: en dør → døren
- Feminine: ei dør → døra Choose one system and be consistent. The sentence here uses the masculine definite form (døren).
Can I say Døra er låst nå instead?
Yes. Døra is the feminine definite form and is common in speech. Døren and Døra mean the same thing in Bokmål.
Can I move nå to the front: Nå er døren låst?
Yes. Both Døren er låst nå and Nå er døren låst are natural. Fronting nå adds emphasis to the timing. End position is neutral. Døren er nå låst also exists but sounds more formal.
What’s the difference between låst, lukket, and stengt?
- låst: locked (requires a key/code to open).
- lukket: closed/shut (not necessarily locked).
- stengt: closed/not open for use (shops, roads, entrances). Examples: Døren er låst (can’t open it), Døren er lukket (it’s shut), Butikken er stengt (the shop is closed).
Is låst a verb tense here?
No. låst is the past participle of låse used adjectivally to describe a state.
- Døren er låst = The door is in a locked state.
- Døren har blitt låst = The door has been locked (focus on the action/result).
- Døren ble låst klokka ti = The door was locked at ten (event in the past).
How do I say “unlock” or “unlocked”?
- Verb: å låse opp (to unlock). Example: Jeg låser opp døren nå.
- Adjective: ulåst (unlocked). Example: Døren er ulåst.
Does låst change form with different nouns?
Predicative (after the verb):
- Neuter: Huset er låst.
- Plural: Dørene er låste. (plural -e; you may also hear låst in speech, but låste is standard) Attributive (before a noun):
- en låst dør, et låst hus, de låste dørene
Where does the negation go? How do I say “The door is not locked now”?
Place ikke after the verb:
- Døren er ikke låst nå. If you front nå: Nå er døren ikke låst.
Any quick pronunciation tips for døren, låst, nå?
- ø (in døren): rounded mid vowel (similar to French deux).
- å (in låst): like the vowel in English “law.”
- Many dialects merge rn into a single retroflex sound, so døren often sounds like it has a single “n”-type sound.
- The final t in låst is pronounced.
Should there be a comma before nå?
No. Nå is a normal adverb here, so no comma: Døren er låst nå. You’d only use a comma if Nå starts a separate interjection, which is not the case here.
How do I say “The door is being locked now”?
Use a passive:
- Døren låses nå. (s-passive; focuses on the ongoing process)
- Døren blir låst nå. (bli-passive; also acceptable)
What’s the Nynorsk version?
Døra er låst no. (Nynorsk uses no for “now” and the feminine døra.)
How do I say “My door is locked now”?
Two common options in Bokmål:
- Postposed possessive (most common): Døren min er låst nå.
- Preposed possessive (more formal/emphatic): Min dør er låst nå. With feminine forms: Døra mi er låst nå.
Where does nå go if I add more information?
Typical options:
- Nå er døren låst for natten. (fronted for emphasis)
- Døren er låst for natten nå. (neutral, “now” at the end)
- Døren er nå låst for natten. (more formal)