Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Du må sjekke avgangstiden før du reiser. - You must check the departure time before you travel.

In Norwegian, when you use a modal verb like må, it’s followed by a bare infinitive—i.e. the verb without å. So you say må sjekke, not må å sjekke. This is different from English, where we say “must check” (bare infinitive) or “have to check” (infinitive with to).

Why is sjekke and not sjekker?

Sjekke is the infinitive form (“to check”). After a modal like må, you always use the infinitive. Sjekker would be the present-tense form (“checks/checking”), which you don’t use here.

What tense is reiser? Doesn’t it mean “you travel” now?

Reiser is the present tense of reise (“to travel”). In Norwegian the present tense often covers future actions when the time frame is clear. Here før du reiser obviously points ahead—“before you travel”—so no future-tense marker is needed.

Why is avgangstiden in the definite form (with -en) instead of avgangstid?

Adding -en makes it “the departure time.” The speaker refers to a specific time (e.g. the train or flight time), so the definite form avgangstiden is used. If you meant departure times in general, you could say avgangstider (plural indefinite).

Can I use skal instead of må?

They’re not identical. Må expresses necessity or obligation (“you must”). Skal can indicate future or a plan (“you will/shall”). If you say Du skal sjekke avgangstiden, it sounds more like “you are supposed to check the departure time” or “this is the plan,” but it’s less forceful than må, which implies “it’s essential.”

How do you pronounce sj in sjekke?

The sj digraph is pronounced /ʃ/, like the English “sh” in shoe. So sjekke sounds like “shek-keh,” with a short /e/ in both syllables.

Why does the clause with før keep the order du reiser and not invert?

In Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like før, you use Subject–Verb order (SVO). In main clauses, Norwegian normally uses Verb–Second (V2) order, but in subordinate clauses you do not. Hence før du reiser (SVO), not før reiser du.

Could I use når instead of før?

No—før means “before” and når means “when.” If you said når du reiser, you’d mean “when you travel,” implying you check after departure begins or at the moment of traveling, which changes the sense. You want to check before you leave, so you need før.