Breakdown of Han beskytter sine øyne med briller når han forsker.
han
he
med
with
når
when
beskytte
to protect
sin
his
øyet
the eye
brillene
the glasses
forske
to research
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Questions & Answers about Han beskytter sine øyne med briller når han forsker.
Why do we use sine øyne instead of hans øyne?
In Norwegian, sine is a reflexive possessive pronoun that refers back to the subject of the sentence. Since han (he) is the subject who owns the eyes, you use sine øyne (“his own eyes”). Hans øyne would be correct if you were talking about someone else’s eyes (e.g. “Maria beskytter hans øyne” – Maria protects his eyes).
Why is briller in the plural form?
Like in English, briller (“glasses”) is treated as a plural noun in Norwegian. You don’t say en brille for a pair of glasses – you always use briller. If you want to emphasize a single device you can say et par briller (“a pair of glasses”).
What does beskytter mean and how does the verb beskytte work here?
Beskytte means “to protect.” It’s a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object (sine øyne). Han beskytter sine øyne literally means “he protects his eyes.” Adding med briller tells us how he protects them (with glasses).
What does forsker mean here? Is it a noun or a verb?
Here forsker is the present‐tense form of the verb å forske (“to do research”). So når han forsker means “when he researches” or “when he is conducting research.” (As a noun, en forsker means “a researcher,” but that’s not how it’s used in this sentence.)
Why do we need han twice in the sentence?
Norwegian clauses generally require an explicit subject. Since you have two clauses—Han beskytter sine øyne med briller and når han forsker—each clause needs its own subject pronoun han. You can’t drop the second han, as you might in some languages.
Why is the word order når han forsker and not han forsker når?
Når is a subordinating conjunction here, introducing a time‐clause. In Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by words like når, fordi, hvis, etc., the conjunction comes first, then subject + verb (SVO). So it’s når han forsker (“when he researches”), not han forsker når.
What’s the difference between når han forsker and mens han forsker?
- Når is used for repeated or habitual actions (“when he researches”).
- Mens emphasizes simultaneous actions in progress (“while he is researching”).
In many contexts they overlap, but mens often focuses on at the same exact moment an action is happening.
Could we say Han beskytter øynene sine instead of sine øyne?
Yes, Han beskytter øynene sine is perfectly correct and common. Norwegian allows both orders for reflexive possessives: sine øyne (more formal) or øynene sine (very natural in speech). Both mean “his eyes.”