Før jeg legger meg, glemmer jeg tannbørsten noen ganger.

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Breakdown of Før jeg legger meg, glemmer jeg tannbørsten noen ganger.

• før: before
• noen ganger: sometimes
• legge seg: to go to bed

Questions & Answers about Før jeg legger meg, glemmer jeg tannbørsten noen ganger.

Why is meg used in legger meg?

The verb å legge normally means “to lay (something) down,” but when you add the reflexive pronoun seg it becomes å legge seg, meaning “to go to bed.” In the first person, seg changes to meg, so jeg legger meg literally means “I lay myself down,” i.e. “I go to bed.”

Why does the subordinate clause før jeg legger meg keep the order Subject-Verb-Object instead of putting the verb at the end?

In Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like før, fordi or hvis, you keep the normal SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) order. Unlike German, Norwegian does not move the finite verb to the end in subordinate clauses. So you say jeg legger (not legger jeg or jeg meg legger).

Is the comma after Før jeg legger meg mandatory?

No, it’s not strictly mandatory in modern Norwegian, but it’s common to put a comma after a fronted subordinate clause to clarify the sentence structure. In informal writing you might skip it, but it often makes the sentence easier to read.

Could I also say jeg glemmer tannbørsten noen ganger før jeg legger meg?

Yes. Placing the subordinate clause at the end is perfectly fine: Jeg glemmer tannbørsten noen ganger før jeg legger meg. The word order inside the subordinate clause stays the same (SVO), and you don’t need a comma when the clause follows the main clause.