Breakdown of Jeg smiler når jeg drikker kaffe.
jeg
I
drikke
to drink
når
when
kaffen
the coffee
smile
to smile
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Questions & Answers about Jeg smiler når jeg drikker kaffe.
Why do we use drikker in the sentence for both I drink and I’m drinking?
Norwegian has no separate progressive tense. The simple present (drikker) covers both habitual actions (“I drink coffee every morning”) and ongoing actions (“I’m drinking coffee right now”). Context tells you which meaning is intended.
Why is there no inversion after når in når jeg drikker kaffe?
når is a subordinating conjunction (“when”). In Norwegian subordinate clauses, the finite verb stays in its normal position (subject–verb–object). That’s why it’s når jeg drikker kaffe rather than når drikker jeg kaffe.
Should there be a comma before når in our sentence?
No comma is needed when the subordinate clause follows the main clause. So you write Jeg smiler når jeg drikker kaffe. If you flip it, you’d write Når jeg drikker kaffe, smiler jeg. and then you’d include the comma.
Could you use mens instead of når?
Yes. mens also means “while” and emphasizes that two actions happen at the same time. Jeg smiler mens jeg drikker kaffe is correct, but når is more common when talking about habitual or general situations.
Why must we include Jeg? Isn’t Norwegian a pro-drop language like Spanish?
Norwegian almost always requires subject pronouns. You cannot drop Jeg the way you drop “yo” in Spanish. Leaving it out would be ungrammatical: you need Jeg smiler… to say “I smile….”
How do you pronounce jeg, smiler, drikker, and kaffe?
– jeg sounds like [yai] or [jai]
– smiler is [ˈsmiːlər] with stress on the first syllable
– drikker is [ˈdrɪkːər], also stressed on the first syllable
– kaffe is [ˈkafːə] with a long “a” and double “f”
Why use the present tense smiler for a habitual action rather than a special form?
The Norwegian present tense covers both single, ongoing, and habitual actions. Jeg smiler can mean “I smile” in general or “I’m smiling right now,” depending on context. No separate habitual form is needed.
What’s the difference between når and da when both can mean “when”?
Use når for general, repeated, or future events: Når jeg drikker kaffe…
Use da for one-time events in the past: Da jeg drakk kaffe i går, falt koppen. (“When I drank coffee yesterday, the cup fell.”)