Ettersom giret sitter fast, må girsystemet justeres.

Since the gear is stuck, the gear system must be adjusted.

Breakdown of Ettersom giret sitter fast, må girsystemet justeres.

• må: must
• justere: to adjust
• sitte fast: to be stuck
• giret: the gear

Questions & Answers about Ettersom giret sitter fast, må girsystemet justeres.

What does ettersom mean here, and how is it different from fordi?

Ettersom means since / as / because in the sense of giving a reason.

In this sentence, Ettersom giret sitter fast, må girsystemet justeres, it introduces the cause:

• because the gear is stuck

Compared with fordi:

• fordi is the most common straightforward word for because
• ettersom can sound a little more formal or written
• in many contexts, they can be translated the same way

So this sentence could also be written with fordi, but ettersom is perfectly natural.

Why is the verb må in second position even though the sentence starts with Ettersom giret sitter fast?

This is because Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in the second position of the main clause.

Here the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Ettersom giret sitter fast = subordinate clause

Then comes the main clause:

• må girsystemet justeres

In the main clause, må is the finite verb, so it comes before the subject girsystemet.

That is why the structure is:

• Ettersom ... , må girsystemet justeres not
• Ettersom ... , girsystemet må justeres

This is very similar to sentences like:

• Når jeg kommer hjem, skal jeg spise.

Why is it giret and not gir?