Questions & Answers about Er alt gjort nå?
Because this is a yes/no question in Norwegian.
In a normal statement, you would say:
- Alt er gjort nå. = Everything is done now.
To make it a yes/no question, Norwegian usually puts the finite verb first:
- Er alt gjort nå? = Is everything done now?
This is very similar to English:
- Everything is done now.
- Is everything done now?
Er is the present tense of å være (to be).
Here it means is, and it combines with gjort to give the idea of something being in a done/finished state:
- er gjort = is done
So:
- Er alt gjort nå? = Is everything done now?
Alt means everything or all of it.
It is the neuter form of all:
- all = all / whole
- alt = everything / all of it
Examples:
- Alt er klart. = Everything is ready.
- Jeg har alt. = I have everything.
In your sentence, alt is the thing being asked about:
- Er alt gjort nå? = Is everything done now?
Gjort is the past participle of å gjøre (to do, to make).
The verb forms are:
- å gjøre = to do / to make
- gjør = do / does
- gjorde = did
- gjort = done
So in this sentence:
- gjort = done
That is why er gjort means is done.
Because after er in this kind of sentence, Norwegian uses the past participle, not the infinitive or the present tense.
Compare:
- gjør = do/does
- gjøre = to do
- gjort = done
So:
- Er alt gjort nå? = Is everything done now?
Not:
- Er alt gjøre nå? ❌
- Er alt gjør nå? ❌
The sentence is describing the resulting state: everything is already done.
Often, yes, but not always in exactly the same way.
Er gjort can be understood as a state or a result:
- Alt er gjort. = Everything is done.
This focuses on the fact that the work is completed.
If you want to focus more on the action of something having been carried out, Norwegian can also say:
- Er alt blitt gjort nå? = Has everything been done now?
That version sounds a bit more explicitly passive and action-focused.
So:
- Er alt gjort nå? = more like Is everything done now?
- Er alt blitt gjort nå? = more like Has everything been done now?
Both are natural, but Er alt gjort nå? is simpler and very common.
Nå means now, but in this kind of sentence it can also feel like by now or yet, at this point depending on context.
So:
- Er alt gjort nå? can mean:
- Is everything done now?
- Is everything done by now?
- Is everything finished yet?
The exact nuance depends on tone and situation.
For example, it might be asked:
- after waiting for someone to finish a task
- when checking whether it is time to leave
- when confirming that all steps have been completed
Yes, it is completely natural.
A native speaker could use it in everyday situations such as:
- after cleaning
- after paperwork
- after preparing food
- after completing a list of tasks
It sounds like a normal way to check whether everything has been completed.
Yes, absolutely.
- Er alt gjort nå? = Is everything done now?
- Er alt ferdig nå? = Is everything finished now?
The difference is small, but there is a nuance:
- gjort focuses more on tasks being done
- ferdig focuses more on something being finished/ready
For example:
- Er leksene gjort? = Is the homework done?
- Er maten ferdig? = Is the food ready/finished?
In many contexts, both are possible.
A rough approximation is:
- Er alt gjort nå?
- approximately: air ahlt yurt no?
A few useful notes:
- er is often pronounced quite lightly in normal speech
- gjort has a y-like vowel sound at the start, not a hard English j
- in many dialects, the rt in gjort is pronounced as a retroflex sound
You do not need perfect pronunciation right away, but it helps to remember that gjort does not sound like English jort.
Yes.
That is the direct statement form:
- Alt er gjort nå. = Everything is done now.
And the question form is:
- Er alt gjort nå? = Is everything done now?
So the only major change is the normal Norwegian yes/no question inversion:
- statement: subject + verb
- question: verb + subject