Senere låser hun datamaskinen med et langt passord.

Later she locks the computer with a long password.

Breakdown of Senere låser hun datamaskinen med et langt passord.

• hun: she
• et: a
• med: with
• lang: long
• senere: later
• låse: to lock
• datamaskinen: the computer
• passordet: the password

Questions & Answers about Senere låser hun datamaskinen med et langt passord.

Why does the verb låser come before the subject hun?

Norwegian follows the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. Since the adverb Senere occupies the first slot, the verb låser must come next, and the subject hun follows.

What is the function of med in this sentence?

med is a preposition meaning “with.” It introduces the instrument or means (the long password) that is used to lock the computer.

Why is datamaskinen in the definite form (with -en)?

The suffix -en marks the definite singular (“the computer”). In context, we’re talking about a specific computer (probably one already mentioned or obvious), so we use datamaskinen instead of en datamaskin.

Why is the article et used before passord, and not en or ei?

Norwegian nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. passord is a neuter noun, so its indefinite singular article is et. Masculine/feminine nouns use en or ei.

Why does the adjective langt end with -t?

Adjectives agree with the gender and definiteness of the noun they modify. Here passord is neuter and indefinite, so lang takes the neuter ending -t, giving langt passord.

What tense is låser, and how would you say “locked” in the past tense?

låser is present tense (“locks” or “is locking”). To express past tense you use låste:
Senere låste hun datamaskinen med et langt passord.
(“Later she locked the computer with a long password.”)

Can you replace senere with etterpå? Do they mean the same thing?

Yes. Both mean “later.” senere is slightly more formal, etterpå a bit more conversational. The word order rule (V2) still applies:
Etterpå låser hun datamaskinen med et langt passord.

Could you move senere or med et langt passord to other positions? How does the word order change?

– To put senere at the end:
Hun låser datamaskinen med et langt passord senere.
– To front med et langt passord, you still obey V2:
Med et langt passord låser hun datamaskinen senere.

Why isn’t there a possessive pronoun like sin before datamaskinen? Could you say “Senere låser hun sin datamaskin”?

You could if you want to stress “her own computer.” The original uses the definite form datamaskinen, assuming context makes it clear whose computer it is. If you add sin, you would normally drop the definite ending:
Senere låser hun sin datamaskin med et langt passord.