På billige kafeer blir knivene ofte byttet ut hver uke.

In cheap cafés the knives are often replaced each week.

Breakdown of På billige kafeer blir knivene ofte byttet ut hver uke.

• bli: to become
• uken: the week
• på: in
• ofte: often

Questions & Answers about På billige kafeer blir knivene ofte byttet ut hver uke.

What does På billige kafeer mean, and why is på used instead of i?

På billige kafeer literally means at cheap cafés. In Norwegian, på is commonly used with locations like cafés, schools, or offices, especially when you talk about being “at” or “on” such places in a general sense. You could say i billige kafeer, but that sounds a bit less idiomatic when talking about visiting or working at cafés.

Why is billige kafeer in the plural form without any article like de or noen?

When you talk about “cheap cafés” in general, you use the indefinite plural (no article). Adding noen (some) would emphasize a subset (“some cheap cafés”), and de billige kafeene would refer to specific cafés already known to the listener (“the cheap cafés”).

Why is knivene in the definite plural? Doesn’t that mean “the knives” instead of “knives”?

Norwegian often uses the definite plural when talking about things in a general, habitual sense. Here, knivene means “the knives” in cheap cafés in general: “In cheap cafés, the knives (in those cafés) are often replaced every week.”

How does the passive construction blir knivene ofte byttet ut work?

This is the present passive formed with bli (in present tense blir) plus the past participle of a verb. Bytte ut means “to replace,” so its past participle is byttet ut. Together blir … byttet ut means “are being replaced” or simply “are replaced.”