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Hun betaler regningen på kaféen før hun går til skogen.

Hun betaler regningen på kaféen før hun går til skogen.
She pays the bill at the café before she goes to the forest.
FromLesson 13inHardcore Norwegian
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Questions & Answers about Hun betaler regningen på kaféen før hun går til skogen.

How do you form the definite singular of a noun in Norwegian, as seen in regningen and kaféen?

In Norwegian you don’t use a separate “the.” Instead you add a suffix to the noun:
• regning = a bill (indefinite) → regningen = the bill (definite)
• kafé = a café (indefinite) → kaféen = the café (definite)
Masculine/feminine nouns typically take -en, neuter takes -et.

Why is på used with kaféen instead of i or another preposition?

The preposition på is used for many public places, venues or establishments in Norwegian:
• på kafé (at a café)
• på restaurant (at a restaurant)
• på biblioteket (at the library)
Using i would imply being “inside” a more closed space (like i huset, in the house).

Why is til used with skogen? Could I say i skogen?

til indicates motion toward a destination: går til skogen = goes to the forest.
i skogen means “in the forest” (location, not movement). If you’re already in the woods, you say i skogen.

What does før mean here, and is it a conjunction or a preposition?

Here før means before and functions as a subordinating conjunction, linking two clauses:
“Hun betaler… før hun går…” = “She pays… before she goes…”

Why is the verb still in second position in the subordinate clause after før?

Norwegian subordinate clauses (with conjunctions like før, at, fordi) keep the normal Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order:
følgende element order → Conjunction (før) – Subject (hun) – Verb (går) – Object/adverbials…

How is the verb betaler conjugated in this sentence, and why does it end with -er?

betale is a regular verb. In present tense you add -er to the infinitive stem:
• infinitive: betale
• jeg betaler, du betaler, hun/han betaler, vi betaler…

What’s the difference between går and drar if I wanted to use drar instead of går?

Both can mean “go,” but:
• gå = to walk or go on foot
• dra = to travel, leave or go (often by vehicle, but also abstractly)
You could say drar til skogen, but it implies “sets off for the forest” (maybe by car or just “leaves for”).

Why is hun repeated in the second clause? Could you omit it like in English (“She pays… before going…”)?

Norwegian requires an explicit subject in each finite clause. You can’t drop hun in the subordinate clause, so you repeat it:
“She pays… before she goes…” → “Hun betaler… før hun går…”