Den ansatte hadde allerede sendt adressen i går.
The employee had already sent the address yesterday.
Breakdown of Den ansatte hadde allerede sendt adressen i går.
ha
to have
i går
yesterday
sende
to send
adressen
the address
Questions & Answers about Den ansatte hadde allerede sendt adressen i går.
Why is den ansatte used here, and how does it differ from en ansatt or ansatte?
Den ansatte is the definite singular form – the employee.
- En ansatt is indefinite singular – an employee.
- Ansatte (without an article) is indefinite plural – employees.
We use den ansatte because we’re referring to one specific employee already introduced or known in the context.
Why do we say hadde sendt instead of the simple past sendte or the present perfect har sendt?
- Hadde sendt is the past perfect (pluperfect) and indicates an action completed before another past moment (e.g. “by the time we arrived, the employee had already sent it”).
- Sendte is the simple past (“sent”) and just places the action in the past without comparing two past events.
- Har sendt is the present perfect (“has sent”) and describes a past action with present relevance; it cannot be used with a definite past time adverb like i går.
If there’s no earlier past event to compare to, Norwegians typically use simple past: Den ansatte sendte adressen i går.
Can we use har allerede sendt adressen i går? Why or why not?