Balansen holdes samtidig som spinnet begynner.

to begin

Breakdown of Balansen holdes samtidig som spinnet begynner.

• holde: to keep
• samtidig som: while
• spinnet: the spin

Questions & Answers about Balansen holdes samtidig som spinnet begynner.

Why are balansen and spinnet in the definite form?

Because Norwegian often uses the definite form where English would say the ....

• en balanse → balansen = the balance
• et spinn → spinnet = the spin

So the sentence is talking about a specific balance and a specific spin, not balance and spin in general.

It is also useful to notice the genders:

• balanse is an en-word
• spinn is an et-word

That is why the endings are different: -en and -et.

What does holdes mean, and why does it end in -es?

Holdes is the present passive form of å holde.

• å holde = to hold, keep, maintain
• holder = holds / keeps
• holdes = is held / is kept / is maintained

In this sentence, balansen holdes means something like the balance is maintained.

The -s passive is very common in Norwegian, especially in neutral, formal, or technical language. English often uses is + past participle, while Norwegian can use this shorter -s form.

Could this also be said as Balansen blir holdt?