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De sier at grønnsakene er ferske der, og jeg vil kjøpe poteter.

De sier at grønnsakene er ferske der, og jeg vil kjøpe poteter.
They say that vegetables are fresh there, and I want to buy potatoes.

Breakdown of De sier at grønnsakene er ferske der, og jeg vil kjøpe poteter.

jeg
I
være
to be
der
there
og
and
kjøpe
to buy
de
they
at
that
grønnsaken
the vegetable
poteten
the potato
si
to say
vil
want
fersk
fresh
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Questions & Answers about De sier at grønnsakene er ferske der, og jeg vil kjøpe poteter.

Why does the sentence start with De—does that mean they or formal you?

De can mean either:

  • they (3rd person plural), normally written de
  • formal You (polite form), written De more often

In everyday modern Norwegian, the formal De is rare. In this sentence, it’s most naturally they say….

Why is sier used instead of something like sier de or a different word order?

Norwegian main clauses follow V2 word order: the finite verb (here sier) is in the second position.

  • Here, position 1 is De (the subject), so position 2 is sier: De sier …

You can start with something else (like a time/place phrase), but then the verb still has to be second.

What does at do here, and is it always required?

at is the complementizer meaning that, introducing a subordinate clause:

  • De sier at grønnsakene er ferske … = They say (that) the vegetables are fresh …

In Norwegian, at is often used, but in some contexts it can be omitted (especially in speech) after verbs like tro (think/believe), si (say), mene (mean):

  • De sier grønnsakene er ferske … (more informal)

Including at is safe and common for learners.

Why is it grønnsakene and not grønnsaker?

grønnsaker = vegetables (indefinite plural)
grønnsakene = the vegetables (definite plural)

Norwegian often uses the definite form when talking about a specific, known set (e.g., the vegetables at that place/store).

How is grønnsakene formed?

It’s the noun grønnsak (a vegetable) in plural definite:

  • singular indefinite: en grønnsak
  • plural indefinite: grønnsaker
  • plural definite: grønnsakene (roughly vegetables + the)

The -ene ending is a common definite plural ending in Bokmål for many nouns.

Why is the adjective fersk written as ferske here?

Adjectives agree with the noun in Norwegian. With a plural noun (and also commonly with definite nouns), you use the -e form:

  • fersk (basic form)
  • ferske (plural / definite-style form)

So:

  • grønnsakene er ferske = the vegetables (plural) are fresh
Why is the word order grønnsakene er ferske and not like English “are fresh the vegetables”?

Inside the at-clause (a subordinate clause), Norwegian uses a more fixed S–V order:

  • … at grønnsakene er ferske … (Subject grønnsakene
    • Verb er)

This is one of the big differences from Norwegian main clauses, where V2 applies more strongly.

What does der mean here, and why is it placed there?

der means there (a location). It’s placed after the adjective phrase, which is a natural, neutral position:

  • … er ferske der = … are fresh there

You could also move der earlier for emphasis, but the given order is very common.

What’s the difference between der and dit?
  • der = there (location: where something is)
  • dit = (to) there (direction: where something goes)

In this sentence, it’s about where the vegetables are, so der is correct.

Why is there a comma before og?

Because og connects two independent clauses: 1) De sier at grønnsakene er ferske der 2) jeg vil kjøpe poteter

Norwegian commonly uses a comma before og when it joins full clauses (each with its own subject and verb).

Does vil mean want or will here?

vil can cover both will and want to, depending on context. With an infinitive like kjøpe, it often expresses intention/desire:

  • jeg vil kjøpe poteter = I want to / I’m going to buy potatoes

If you mean a stronger “want” (desire), Norwegian can also use jeg har lyst til å … or jeg vil gjerne … (I’d like to …).

Why is it vil kjøpe (two verbs), and why doesn’t kjøpe change form?

vil is a modal verb. After modal verbs, Norwegian uses the infinitive of the main verb without å:

  • vil kjøpe (not vil å kjøpe)

So kjøpe stays in the infinitive form.

Why is it poteter and not potetene?

poteter is indefinite plural: (some) potatoes. That’s typical when you mean you want to buy potatoes in general, not a specific known set.

If you meant specific potatoes (e.g., the ones you talked about earlier), you might say potetene = the potatoes.