Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Konserten er utsolgt, men filmen har ledige plasser. - The concert is sold out, but the movie has available seats.

Norwegian marks definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun. Konserten = “the concert” (en konsert → konserten) and filmen = “the film” (en film → filmen). In this sentence you’re talking about specific, known events, so the definite form is natural. English uses the separate article “the”; Norwegian usually uses the suffixed article.

What does utsolgt literally mean, and how is it used?

Utsolgt literally means “sold out.” It’s the past participle of å selge ut (“to sell out”). With events or products you say:

Konserten er utsolgt. = The concert is sold out.
Butikken er utsolgt for munnbind. = The store is sold out of masks. (Here you can add for + noun.)

Why is it filmen har ledige plasser and not something like filmen er ledig?

Because you’re talking about availability of seats for a screening, not the film itself being “free.” Norwegian typically uses “have” for availability:

Filmen har ledige plasser. = The screening has available seats. Alternative existential phrasing: Det er ledige plasser (på visningen).

Why does ledige end with -e here?

Adjectives take -e in the plural. Plasser is plural, so you need ledige:

Singular indefinite: en ledig plass
Plural indefinite: ledige plasser
Definite singular: den ledige plassen
Definite plural: de ledige plassene With a neuter noun: et ledig sete, but plural: ledige seter.

Can I say ledige seter instead of ledige plasser?

Yes. Both are common:

sete/seter refers specifically to seats.
plass/plasser is broader (“spots/places”), but in venues it also means “seats.” For a cinema, ledige seter is slightly more concrete; ledige plasser is perfectly idiomatic.

Do I need the comma before men?

Yes, when men connects two independent clauses you put a comma:

Konserten er utsolgt, men filmen har ledige plasser. If men only links words or short phrases (not full clauses), you normally don’t use a comma:
Dyr men god.

Does men change word order? What about the verb-second rule?

Men is a coordinating conjunction; it starts a new main clause, so the verb still goes in second position (V2):

… men filmen har ledige plasser. (Subject first, verb second) If you front something else, the verb still stays second:
… men i kveld er filmen utsolgt.

Could I phrase it with “there are” in Norwegian?

Yes:

Det er ledige plasser (på visningen).
To emphasize scarcity: Det er få ledige plasser igjen.
With “no”: Det er ingen ledige plasser.

Is it natural to say filmen har ledige plasser even though a film doesn’t literally have seats?

Yes. It’s a common metonymy: filmen stands for “the screening of the film.” More precise options are visningen or forestilling(en):

Visningen kl. 19 har ledige plasser.
Det er ledige plasser på visningen av filmen.

What genders are these nouns, and how do their plurals look?

All three are masculine in Bokmål:

en konsert → konserten → konserter → konsertene
en film → filmen → filmer → filmene
en plass → plassen → plasser → plassene Related neuter word: et sete → setet → seter → setene.

How do I negate these sentences?

Konserten er ikke utsolgt.
Filmen har ikke ledige plasser. (grammatical, but more idiomatic is)
Det er ikke ledige plasser (på visningen).
Det er ingen ledige plasser.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky parts like utsolgt and ledige?

Konserten ≈ “kon-SAIR-ten” (stress on second syllable).
Filmen ≈ “FIL-men.”
Utsolgt ≈ “OOT-solt”; the g is often not clearly pronounced; the consonant cluster can simplify in fast speech.
Ledige ≈ “LEH-dee-geh” (hard g).
Plasser ≈ “PLAH-ser.” Stress usually falls on the first syllable of content words like filmen, plasser.

Useful variants and common collocations?

Helt utsolgt / nesten utsolgt = completely / almost sold out.
Fullbooket = fully booked (common in hotels/restaurants).
Mange/få ledige plasser (igjen) = many/few seats left.
Billett(er) igjen = tickets left: Det er fortsatt billetter igjen.