Breakdown of Treneren sier at suksess kommer ved å øve jevnt, ikke ved å kreve raske resultater.
komme
to come
å
to
at
that
ikke
not
si
to say
rask
quick
ved
by
treneren
the coach
suksessen
the success
øve
to practice
jevnt
steadily
kreve
to demand
resultatet
the result
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Questions & Answers about Treneren sier at suksess kommer ved å øve jevnt, ikke ved å kreve raske resultater.
Why does the sentence use ved å + infinitive (as in ved å øve) rather than just the infinitive øve?
The structure ved å + infinitive literally means “by doing something.” It’s the standard way in Norwegian to express how something is achieved (method). In English you’d say “by practicing,” and in Norwegian you say ved å øve.
What exactly does øve jevnt mean, and why is it jevnt and not jevn?
- øve jevnt means “practice steadily/consistently.”
- jevn is an adjective (“even/steady”), but when you modify a verb (øve) you need the adverb form, which in Bokmål often looks like the adjective’s neuter singular (jevn → jevnt).
Could you use jevnlig instead of jevnt here?
Yes, jevnlig is another adverb meaning “regularly.” The nuance is slightly different:
- jevnlig emphasizes “at regular intervals.”
- jevnt emphasizes a smooth, even pace without big jumps.
Both are grammatically correct in øve jevnt / øve jevnlig.
Why is there a comma before ikke ved å kreve raske resultater?
The comma marks a contrast between the two methods:
- ved å øve jevnt (“by practicing steadily”)
- ikke ved å kreve raske resultater (“not by demanding quick results”)
In Norwegian you often set off the contrasting part with a comma, even though ikke … men (“not … but”) is implied.
Why does the finite verb kommer follow the subject suksess rather than appear at the end of the clause?
Norwegian clauses (even subordinate ones introduced by at) generally follow the V2 rule: the finite verb always appears in second position. Here the subordinate clause is:
at (1) → suksess (2, subject) → kommer (3, verb) → …
What role does at play in sier at suksess kommer? Can it ever be omitted?
- at is the conjunction introducing an indirect speech / subordinate clause: “says that success comes…”
- In informal Norwegian you can sometimes drop at after verbs of saying (Treneren sier suksess kommer…), but keeping at is clearer and more formal.
Why isn’t there an article before suksess?
suksess is an abstract, uncountable noun used in a general sense (“success” in general), so no article is needed. You’d only add an article if you meant a specific success (“den suksessen”).
Why is the adjective raske inflected with -e in raske resultater?
When an adjective modifies a plural indefinite noun, it takes the weak form ending in -e. Here resultater is plural and indefinite, so rask → raske.
Could we replace kreve with forvente in ikke ved å kreve raske resultater?
Not quite—the verbs have different meanings:
- kreve = “to demand / require”
- forvente = “to expect”
Using forvente would shift the nuance to “not by expecting quick results,” which is a bit different from “not by demanding them.”
What about using av å øve jevnt instead of ved å øve jevnt?
- ved å is the fixed preposition + infinitive for expressing method (“by doing X”).
- av å suggests cause (“because of doing X”), but you rarely use it with infinitives.
So ved å øve jevnt is the correct way to say “by practicing consistently.”