Sengetøyet tørker raskt på verandaen.

The bed linen dries quickly on the veranda.

Breakdown of Sengetøyet tørker raskt på verandaen.

• på: on
• raskt: quickly
• tørke: to dry
• verandaen: the veranda
• sengetøyet: the bed linen

Questions & Answers about Sengetøyet tørker raskt på verandaen.

What exactly does sengetøyet mean? Is it like “bed” or “bed sheets”?

Sengetøyet means “the bedding / the bed linen” in a general, collective sense. It usually includes:

• sheets
• duvet cover
• pillowcases

It does not mean the bed itself (frame or mattress). For that you’d say seng (bed).

Why does sengetøy become sengetøyet here? What does the ending -et mean?

The ending -et is the definite article for neuter nouns in Norwegian.

• sengetøy = bedding / bed linen (general, “bedding” in general)
• sengetøyet = the bedding / the bed linen

Norwegian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

• en stol → stolen = the chair
• et hus → huset = the house
• (neuter) et sengetøy → sengetøyet = the bedding

Is sengetøy singular or plural? How would I say “the bed linens” in Norwegian?

Sengetøy is grammatically singular neuter, but it’s a mass/collective noun, like “bedding” in English.

You normally use:

• sengetøy = bedding (in general)
• sengetøyet = the bedding

Norwegian does not usually use a regular plural for sengetøy in normal speech. Instead, if you want to stress separate sets or pieces, you’d say something like:

• to sett sengetøy = two sets of bedding
• to sengesett = two bed-linen sets (very common word)

What is the verb tørker? What is its infinitive form and how is it conjugated?

tørker is the present tense of the verb tørke = to dry.

Basic forms:

• Infinitive: å tørke = to dry
• Present: tørker = dries / is drying
• Past: tørket = dried
• Past participle: tørket (used with har: har tørket = has dried)

Present tense does not change with person:

• jeg tørker = I dry / I am drying
• du tørker = you dry
• han/hun tørker = he/she dries
• vi tørker = we dry
• dere tørker = you (plural) dry
• de tørker = they dry

In English we say “is drying”. Why is it just tørker and not some continuous form like “er tørkende”?

Norwegian usually doesn’t have a separate continuous/progressive form like English “is drying”. The simple present often covers both:

• Sengetøyet tørker raskt.
  = The bedding dries quickly.
  = The bedding is drying quickly.

There is a form like er tørkende, but it’s very rare and sounds formal or literary. In everyday language, tørker is what you use.

Why is it raskt and not rask? How do adjectives turn into adverbs?

Rask is the adjective “fast / quick”.
To make an adverb (like “quickly”), Norwegian often adds -t to the neuter singular form of the adjective.

• rask (m/f), raskt (neuter)
  → adverb: raskt = quickly

More examples:

• langsom (slow) → langsomt (slowly)
• rolig (calm) → rolig is used both as adjective and adverb (no change)
• fort is originally an adjective but is also used widely as an adverb: fort = quickly/fast

So here raskt = “quickly”.

What’s the difference between raskt and fort? Could I say Sengetøyet tørker fort på verandaen?

Yes, you can say:

• Sengetøyet tørker fort på verandaen.

Both:

• raskt = quickly
• fort = fast, quickly

In everyday speech, fort is very common and sometimes sounds a bit more colloquial. Raskt is perfectly normal too, maybe a tiny bit more neutral or “bookish”, but it’s not formal in any problematic way. Here they’re practically interchangeable.

Why is it på verandaen and not i verandaen? How is på used?

på literally means “on”, but it is also used for certain locations that English might express with “on”, “in”, or even “at”.

For veranda / balcony / terrace, Norwegian typically uses på because you are on an open surface:

• på verandaen = on the veranda
• på balkongen = on the balcony
• på terrassen = on the terrace

You would use i (“in”) for more clearly enclosed spaces:

• i huset = in the house
• i stua = in the living room

So på verandaen is the natural, idiomatic choice.

Why is it verandaen and not just veranda? What does the ending -en mean?

The ending -en is the definite article for common-gender nouns (the gender that uses en in the indefinite).

• en veranda = a veranda
• verandaen = the veranda

So the pattern is:

• en bil → bilen = the car
• en bok → boka/boken = the book
• en veranda → verandaen = the veranda

In the sentence, the veranda is specific, so we use the definite form: verandaen.

What is the basic word order here? Why is raskt after tørker?

The basic word order is:

Subject – Verb – Adverb – Place

• Sengetøyet (subject)
• tørker (verb)
• raskt (adverb: how?)
• på verandaen (place: where?)

In Norwegian, short adverbs of manner, time, etc. often come right after the verb in a simple main clause:

• Jeg spiser sakte.
• Han løper fort.
• Sengetøyet tørker raskt.

Putting raskt before the verb (raskt tørker sengetøyet) is possible only with special emphasis or in more poetic or marked language. The neutral order is tørker raskt.

Can I move på verandaen to the beginning of the sentence? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

• På verandaen tørker sengetøyet raskt.

This is correct, natural Norwegian. The meaning is basically the same, but the emphasis shifts slightly:

• Sengetøyet tørker raskt på verandaen.
  → Neutral, focus starts with “the bedding”.
• På verandaen tørker sengetøyet raskt.
  → Puts more focus on the place; “On the veranda, the bedding dries quickly (as opposed to somewhere else)”.

Grammatically both are fine; it’s about what you want to highlight.

How do you pronounce the øy sound in sengetøyet?

øy is a single diphthong in Norwegian. A rough English approximation is like the vowel in “boy”, but with the lips more rounded, somewhere between “uh-oy” and the German “eu” in Europa.

Syllables in sengetøyet:

• sen-ge-tøy-et

Approximate pronunciation:

• sen like sen in “send” but without the final d
• ge like geh (soft g, as in get but a bit softer)
• tøy with the øy as described above (boy-ish sound, but more rounded)
• et like eht (short e)

So overall something like: SEN-geh-tuhy-eht (very rough English rendering).

Is there a difference between sengetøy and sengesett?

Yes:

• sengetøy = bedding / bed linen in general, as a material or category.
• et sengesett = a bed-linen set, usually one coordinated set (duvet cover + pillowcase, sometimes sheet).

Examples:

• Jeg må vaske sengetøyet.
  = I need to wash the bedding.

• Jeg kjøpte to nye sengesett.
  = I bought two new bed-linen sets.

In the original sentence, sengetøyet is natural because we’re talking about actual bedding that has been washed and is now drying.