Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning NorwegianMaster Norwegian — from Den venstre døren er stengt to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
More from this lesson
Questions & Answers about Den venstre døren er stengt.
This is because of double definiteness, which is a normal feature of Norwegian.
- døren = the door
- When you add an adjective before a definite noun, Norwegian usually also adds den / det / de
- So den venstre døren literally looks like the left the-door
This is the standard pattern in Bokmål:
- døren = the door
- den store døren = the big door
- den venstre døren = the left door
English only uses one definite marker, but Norwegian often uses two in this kind of phrase.
Because dør is a common-gender noun in Norwegian.
Its basic form is:
- en dør = a door
Common-gender nouns use den in phrases like this:
- den venstre døren
If it were a neuter noun, you would use det instead:
- et hus = a house
- det store huset = the big house
So the choice of den comes from the gender of dør.
In definite noun phrases, adjectives often appear in an -e form:
- den store døren
- den gamle bilen
With venstre, the form is already venstre, so it stays the same:
- den venstre døren
Also, venstre is commonly used as a side/direction adjective, and it does not take any extra ending here.
It comes from the verb å stenge = to close / to shut, but here it is being used like an adjective.
So:
- er = is
- stengt = closed / shut
Together, er stengt means is closed.
This is very common in Norwegian. A past participle is often used after er to describe a state:
- Døren er stengt = The door is closed
- Butikken er stengt = The shop is closed
So in this sentence, stengt describes the condition of the door.
Not necessarily.
stengt means closed or shut. A door can be stengt without being locked.
If you specifically want to say locked, Norwegian usually uses:
- låst = locked
So:
- Døren er stengt = The door is closed
- Døren er låst = The door is locked
Sometimes a closed door may also be locked in real life, but the word stengt itself does not mean that.
Er is the present tense of å være = to be.
The sentence has a very simple structure:
- Den venstre døren = the subject
- er = the verb
- stengt = the description
So the whole sentence follows the pattern:
subject + verb + description
That is the same basic idea as in English:
- The left door is closed
Yes. In Bokmål, both are possible.
You may see:
- døren
- døra
Both mean the door.
In general:
- døren can sound more neutral or formal
- døra can sound more colloquial or more clearly feminine
So these are both possible:
- Den venstre døren er stengt
- Den venstre døra er stengt
Yes, absolutely.
That means roughly:
- The door on the left is closed
This version is often very natural when you are identifying something by location.
There is a small difference in feel:
- den venstre døren = the left door
- døren til venstre = the door on the left
Both are correct. Depending on context, some speakers may find døren til venstre a little more natural in everyday speech.
Because this is a normal Norwegian main clause.
The order is:
- Den venstre døren = subject
- er = finite verb
- stengt = complement/predicate
Norwegian main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule, often called V2. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.
Here, the subject comes first, so er comes second:
- Den venstre døren er stengt
That is the standard word order for a simple statement like this.