Jeg kommer tilbake snart.

I will come back soon.

Breakdown of Jeg kommer tilbake snart.

• jeg: I
• snart: soon
• komme tilbake: to come back

Questions & Answers about Jeg kommer tilbake snart.

What part of speech is tilbake and what does it mean here?

tilbake is an adverb meaning back. When you combine it with the verb komme, you get “to come back.”

Why is kommer in the present tense and not a future form?

In Norwegian, the present tense often covers near-future events. So jeg kommer tilbake snart literally reads “I come back soon,” but it’s understood as “I will come back soon.”

Can I say Jeg kommer snart tilbake instead of Jeg kommer tilbake snart?

Yes. Both word orders are correct:

• Jeg kommer tilbake snart.
• Jeg kommer snart tilbake.
  The meaning is the same; the difference is a subtle shift in emphasis on snart.

How does word order work with adverbs like snart in Norwegian?

Norwegian is a V2 (verb-second) language. That means the finite verb (kommer) must be the second element in a main clause. Adverbs such as snart can appear after the verb or after the verb phrase, as long as kommer stays in position two.

What’s the difference between Jeg kommer tilbake and ?