Jeg går ned i kjelleren for å hente en pute.

I go down into the basement to fetch a cushion.

Breakdown of Jeg går ned i kjelleren for å hente en pute.

• jeg: I
• en: a
• å: to
• for: for
• hente: to fetch
• gå ned: to go down
• i: into
• kjelleren: the basement
• puten: the cushion

Questions & Answers about Jeg går ned i kjelleren for å hente en pute.

What does går ned i mean in this sentence?

går is the present tense of gå (“to go” or “to walk”), ned is an adverb meaning “down,” and i is the preposition “into” or “in.” So “går ned i” literally means “go down into.” Here it indicates descending into the basement.

Why do we need the preposition i before kjelleren?

The preposition i shows location or direction inside something—English “in” or “into.” Without i, you’d have just “kjelleren” (“the basement”) as a noun. “går ned i kjelleren” is literally “go down into the basement.”

Why is it kjelleren (definite) and not en kjeller (indefinite)?

kjelleren is the definite form of kjeller (“basement”), meaning “the basement.” Use the definite when both you and your listener know which basement you mean (e.g. the basement of your house). en kjeller would mean “a basement” (some unspecified basement).

What does for å hente mean, and why is it used here?

for å hente introduces a purpose clause, equivalent to English “in order to fetch” or simply “to fetch.” It explains why you’re going down. Grammatically, “for å” + infinitive expresses purpose: “for å hente en pute” = “to fetch a pillow.”

Why do we put the infinitive marker å before hente?

In Norwegian, å functions like English “to” before an infinitive (e.g. å hente = “to fetch”). Whenever you have a bare infinitive (except after certain modal verbs), you need å in front.

Can I omit for å and just say “Jeg går ned i kjelleren hente en pute”?

No. For purpose clauses you must use for å before the infinitive. Omitting for å would be ungrammatical in standard Norwegian.

Why is it en pute and not et pute or ei pute?

pute is a common-gender noun in Bokmål, so it takes the common-gender indefinite article en. et is only for neuter nouns (e.g. et hus = “a house”). Although some feminine nouns can use ei, pute is treated as common gender and takes en.

What if I start the sentence with “I kjelleren” instead of “Jeg”?

Norwegian follows the V2 (verb‐second) rule. If you begin with the adverbial “I kjelleren”, the finite verb still must be in second position, so you get:
“I kjelleren går jeg ned for å hente en pute.”
This shifts emphasis to the location.