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Jeg var på kino for tre dager siden.

Jeg var på kino for tre dager siden.
I was at the cinema three days ago.
FromLesson 24inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Jeg var på kino for tre dager siden.

jeg
I
være
to be
på
at
kinoen
the cinema
for tre dager siden
three days ago
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Questions & Answers about Jeg var på kino for tre dager siden.

Why is var used instead of har vært in this sentence?
Norwegian distinguishes between simple past (preterite) and present perfect. You use var (preterite of å være) when you specify exactly when something happened (here, “for tre dager siden”). Har vært (present perfect) is used for past experiences or actions without a precise time marker. Since we have for tre dager siden, the simple past var is appropriate.
What does på kino mean, and why is the preposition på used?
På kino literally means “at the cinema” but functions idiomatically like English “to the movies.” In Norwegian, certain activities or locations—such as kino, skole, jobb, universitet—take på rather than til or i.
Could you use til kino instead of på kino?
No. Although til often translates as “to,” Norwegian habitually uses på with kino. Saying til kino would sound unnatural to native speakers.
How do you form for tre dager siden, and what does each word mean?

This phrase corresponds to English “three days ago” and breaks down as: • for = “for” (introduces the duration)
• tre dager = “three days” (number + plural noun)
• siden = “since/ago”
Together, for tre dager siden = “for three days ago,” used idiomatically as “three days ago.”

Why do you need both for and siden to express “ago”?

In Norwegian, for ... siden is the fixed structure meaning “ago.”
• for introduces the time span (“for three days”)
• siden marks that this span is counted back from now (“ago”)
Using siden alone typically means “since” as in “because” or “ever since,” not “ago.”

How would you say “a day ago” instead of “three days ago”?

Replace tre dager with en dag:
• for en dag siden = “a day ago”

Why is dager in the plural form, not singular?
Any numeral greater than one requires the plural noun. Since tre = “three,” the noun dag becomes dager (plural indefinite).
Can you move the time expression for tre dager siden to the beginning of the sentence? How does word order change?

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 rule, so if you start with an adverbial like for tre dager siden, the finite verb remains in second position and you invert subject and verb:
• For tre dager siden var jeg på kino.
This is perfectly grammatical and simply emphasizes the time frame.

What’s the difference between jeg var på kino and jeg dro på kino?

• Jeg var på kino = “I was at the cinema” (focus on being there).
• Jeg dro på kino = “I went to the cinema” (focus on the action of going).
Both are correct, but they highlight different aspects of the event.