Hendelsen skjedde i går.

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• en hendelse = an event / a happening
• hendelsen = the event

So -en here is the masculine singular definite ending, meaning the.

This is one of the biggest differences from English:

• English: the event
• Norwegian: hendelsen

The base form is å skje, which means to happen.

• å skje = infinitive
• skjer = present tense
• skjedde = past tense
• har skjedd = past participle / present perfect form

So in this sentence, skjedde is simply the past tense: happened.

Yes. Å skje is not a fully regular verb.

Its main forms are:

• å skje = to happen
• skjer = happens / is happening
• skjedde = happened
• har skjedd = has happened

A learner often expects a more predictable pattern, but this is just one of those verbs whose forms need to be memorized.

Norwegian commonly uses the fixed expression i går for yesterday.

Literally, i often means in, but in this expression you should learn i går as a whole phrase. It simply means yesterday.

Other common time expressions work similarly:

• i dag = today
• i morgen = tomorrow

So it is best to treat i går as a set expression rather than translating each word too literally.

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness on the noun itself.

Instead of:

• English: the event

you get:

• Norwegian: hendelsen

That means the sentence does not need a separate word like the before hendelsen.

However, Norwegian can use a separate determiner together with a definite noun in some cases, for example:

• den store hendelsen = the big event

But in your sentence, hendelsen by itself already means the event.

Yes, that is grammatically possible, but it sounds a bit different in focus.

• Hendelsen skjedde i går.
  Focuses first on the event.

• I går skjedde hendelsen.
  Puts yesterday first for emphasis.

This also shows an important Norwegian word-order rule: the finite verb usually stays in the second position of a main clause.

So:

• Hendelsen
  • skjedde
    • i går
• I går
  • skjedde
    • hendelsen

Notice that when I går moves to the front, skjedde still stays second.

Hendelse is a common and useful word, especially for:

• an event
• an incident
• something that happened

Depending on context, it can sound slightly broader or more neutral than English event. In some contexts it may feel closer to incident or occurrence.

Other Norwegian words can overlap with it:

• begivenhet = event, often more formal or noteworthy
• ulykke = accident
• episode = episode / incident

So hendelsen is a very normal choice when talking about something that happened.

This is a tricky word for English speakers.

A rough guide:

• skj- is a Norwegian sound similar to sh, but often softer and more fronted depending on dialect
• -edde has a short vowel and doubled consonant feel

A very rough approximation is something like SHEH-deh, but that is not exact.

The hardest part is usually skj. In many standard pronunciations, it sounds close to the sh sound in English ship, though Norwegian speakers may pronounce it a bit differently depending on region.

If you are learning pronunciation, this is a good word to listen to from native audio rather than relying only on spelling.

Because Norwegian normally does not use an extra auxiliary like English did for a simple past statement.

English can say:

• The event happened yesterday.

and for emphasis:

• The event did happen yesterday.

Norwegian usually just uses the past tense verb directly:

• Hendelsen skjedde i går.

If you want emphasis in Norwegian, you normally express it through word order, stress, or added words, not by inserting a direct equivalent of English did.

Yes, very often.

Depending on context, å skje can be translated as:

• happen
• occur
• take place

So Hendelsen skjedde i går could be understood as:

• The event happened yesterday
• The event took place yesterday

English chooses among these based on style, but Norwegian often uses skje naturally in all of those contexts.

Yes. This is a very standard Norwegian sentence pattern:

• Subject: Hendelsen
• Verb: skjedde
• Time expression: i går

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + time

That is completely natural and one of the most basic patterns you will see in Norwegian main clauses.