Breakdown of Når bussen kommer sent, spør jeg sjåføren hvorfor vi må vente.
jeg
I
vi
we
måtte
must
når
when
komme
to arrive
sent
late
bussen
the bus
vente
to wait
spørre
to ask
sjåføren
the driver
hvorfor
why
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Questions & Answers about Når bussen kommer sent, spør jeg sjåføren hvorfor vi må vente.
Why is når used here, and what does it mean?
når is a subordinating conjunction meaning when. It introduces a time clause that describes a recurring or conditional event. In this sentence, it tells us “When the bus arrives late…”.
Why is the word order bussen kommer sent instead of kommer bussen sent after når?
In subordinate clauses introduced by når, Norwegian uses normal SVO (subject-verb-object/adverb) order. So you get bussen (subject) + kommer (verb) + sent (adverb). Inversion (verb before subject) happens only in main clauses.
Why is bussen in the definite form (“the bus”) rather than en buss (“a bus”)?
Because the speaker is talking about a specific bus—the one they are waiting for. Norwegian marks specificity and known entities by using the definite form (bussen, sjåføren, etc.) instead of the indefinite (en buss, en sjåfør).
Why does the main clause say spør jeg sjåføren instead of jeg spør sjåføren?
After a fronted clause (Når bussen kommer sent), the main clause must respect the V2 rule: the finite verb stays in second position. Since the entire Når-clause counts as position one, the verb spør moves before the subject jeg.
Why is there no om before hvorfor in the embedded question?
om (meaning whether/if) is used in embedded yes/no questions. With a question word like hvorfor (why), you introduce the embedded question directly: spør jeg sjåføren hvorfor..., not spør jeg sjåføren om hvorfor....
Why isn’t there inversion in the embedded question hvorfor vi må vente?
Embedded questions follow normal SVO order. So you have vi (subject) + må (verb) + vente (infinitive). Inversion (verb-subject) only occurs in main questions.
Why is må followed by vente instead of å vente?
After modal verbs like må (must), Norwegian drops the particle å before the main verb. You say må vente (must wait), not må å vente.
Why is sent used instead of sen in kommer sent?
sent is the adverb “late” (modifying the verb kommer). sen is an adjective used to describe nouns (e.g., en sen buss = a late bus).
What role does sjåføren play, and why is it in the definite form?
sjåføren is the definite form of sjåfør (driver), referring to that specific bus’s driver. It’s the indirect object of spør (“ask”), so jeg spør sjåføren means “I ask the driver.”
Why is vi used before må vente instead of oss?
vi is the subject pronoun we, because we are the ones who must wait. oss is the object pronoun us, which would be incorrect here.