Hvis jeg har tid, drikker jeg kaffe.

If I have time, I drink coffee.

Breakdown of Hvis jeg har tid, drikker jeg kaffe.

• jeg: I
• ha: to have
• drikke: to drink
• tid: the time
• hvis: if
• kaffe: the coffee

Questions & Answers about Hvis jeg har tid, drikker jeg kaffe.

What does "hvis" mean in this sentence?

"Hvis" translates to "if" in English and is used to introduce the conditional clause in the sentence.

Why is the subject "jeg" placed after the verb "drikker" in the main clause?

This inversion is due to the verb-second (V2) word order rule in Norwegian. When a sentence doesn't begin with the subject—such as when starting with a conditional clause—the finite verb comes immediately after the first element, so the subject follows. Hence, instead of "jeg drikker kaffe," we see "drikker jeg kaffe."

What purpose does the comma serve in "Hvis jeg har tid, drikker jeg kaffe"?

The comma separates the conditional clause ("Hvis jeg har tid") from the main clause ("drikker jeg kaffe"). This punctuation helps clarify that one part of the sentence sets a condition while the other states the resulting action, similar to how we handle complex sentences in English.

Why are both verbs, "har" and "drikker," in the present tense despite the sentence conveying a conditional idea?

Norwegian often uses the present tense to express habitual or general conditions. In this sentence, "har" (have) and "drikker" (drink) are both in the present tense to indicate a regular occurrence: if the condition (having time) is met, then the action (drinking coffee) usually takes place.

How does this sentence structure compare to forming conditional sentences in English?

The structure is quite similar to English. In English, you would say "If I have time, I drink coffee." Both languages start with a conditional clause using "if" and follow it with a main clause stating the result. The main difference lies in the word order: Norwegian employs the V2 rule after the introductory clause, leading to an inversion where the verb comes before the subject, which is less common in English.