Questions & Answers about Jeg kommer sannsynligvis tidlig til møtet.
Why does the sentence use the present tense kommer for a future event?
In Norwegian, the present tense of å komme can express a planned future action. So Jeg kommer literally means “I come,” but contextually it works like English “I will come” or “I’m coming.” If you want to emphasize the future even more, you can add skal:
“Jeg skal komme sannsynligvis tidlig til møtet.”
What part of speech is sannsynligvis, and how is it formed?
Sannsynligvis is an adverb meaning “probably.” It’s formed from the adjective sannsynlig (“likely”) plus the adverbial suffix -vis, which is a common way in Norwegian to turn adjectives into adverbs (similar to ”-ly” in English).
Why is sannsynligvis placed before tidlig? Can Norwegian adverbs move around?
Norwegian adverbs follow a general order: subject – verb – degree adverb – time adverb – place. Here, sannsynligvis is a degree adverb (“probably”) and comes right after the verb kommer, while tidlig is a time adverb (“early”) and follows it. Technically you could say “Jeg kommer tidlig sannsynligvis…,” but it sounds awkward. The preferred sequence is exactly as in your sentence.
Why does the sentence use til møtet (to the meeting) instead of på møtet (at the meeting)?