Mens vi venter, spiser vi kake i kafeen.

While we wait, we eat cake in the café.

Breakdown of Mens vi venter, spiser vi kake i kafeen.

• spise: to eat
• vi: we
• i: in
• mens: while
• vente: to wait
• kaken: the cake
• kafeen: the café

Questions & Answers about Mens vi venter, spiser vi kake i kafeen.

What does Mens mean, and how does it differ from Når?

• Mens translates as “while” and introduces an action happening simultaneously with another.
• Når means “when” and is used for points in time (single or repeated events).
  Example: Mens vi spiser, snakker vi = “While we eat, we talk.”
  Example: Når vi spiser, slår klokka 12 = “When we eat, it’s already noon.”

Why are both verbs in the present tense (venter, spiser)? Could we use past or future?

• Present tense in Norwegian (as in English) describes actions happening now or habitually.
• To talk about the past, you’d say: Mens vi ventet, spiste vi kake i kafeen.
• For the future: Mens vi venter, skal vi spise kake i kafeen.

In the main clause, why does spiser appear before vi? Isn’t Norwegian word order SVO?

Norwegian follows the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must be the second constituent of a main clause.
1) Mens vi venter (entire subordinate clause) counts as the first.
2) Then comes the verb (spiser) in second position.
3) Finally the subject (vi).
Alternative (avoiding inversion):
Vi spiser kake i kafeen mens vi venter, where the subordinate clause is moved to the end.

Why is there no article before kake? Could we say en kake?

• Here kake is used generically (like a mass noun): “we eat cake.”
• If you mean “one whole cake,” you use en kake:
  Vi spiser en kake i kafeen = “We eat one cake in the café.”
• To refer to a specific cake you’ve mentioned, you’d say kaka.

Why is it i kafeen and not på kafeen or på kafé?

• i kafeen = “in the café” (definite place).
• på kafé (no article) is a very common idiom for “at a café” in general.
• på kafeen would also work if you’ve already specified kafeen (“at that café”).
  Choice depends on nuance: inside a known café (i kafeen) vs. going to any café (på kafé).

Why isn’t there a på after venter? Don’t we usually vente på something?

• Vente på requires a direct object: Vi venter på bussen (“We’re waiting for the bus”).
• Vente by itself means “to wait” (with no object): Vi venter = “we wait.”
• In our sentence no specific object is mentioned, so på is omitted.

Is the comma after Mens vi venter mandatory?

• In Norwegian, a comma is standard after a subordinate clause that precedes the main clause.
• In informal writing you might see it omitted, but including it clarifies structure:
  Mens vi venter, spiser vi kake i kafeen.