Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Sjåføren kjører sakte forbi ulykken og takker oss for at vi er tålmodige. - The driver drives slowly past the accident and thanks us for being patient.

Sjåføren is the definite singular form of the noun sjåfør (“driver”). In Bokmål, most masculine nouns form the definite singular by adding -en to the root, so sjåfør → sjåføren (“the driver”).

Why is sakte used instead of langsomt, and are they interchangeable?

Both sakte and langsomt mean “slowly.” Sakte is the more common everyday adverb, while langsomt is also correct but slightly more formal. You can say kjører langsomt, but kjører sakte sounds more colloquial.

What does forbi mean and how does it function in this sentence?

Forbi is a preposition (or adverb) meaning “past” or “by.” It indicates movement beyond something. In kjører sakte forbi ulykken, forbi links the verb kjører to ulykken, showing that the driver is passing the accident.

Why is the adverb sakte placed before the phrase forbi ulykken?

Norwegian word order typically puts manner adverbs (how something is done) immediately after the verb and before other adverbials that indicate place or direction. Hence: kjører (verb) + sakte (manner) + forbi ulykken (direction).

Why is ulykken in the definite form here?

Ulykken (“the accident”) is definite because it refers to a specific accident that both speaker and listener know about. If you spoke about an accident in general, you’d say en ulykke (“an accident”).

In takker oss for at vi er tålmodige, what is the role of for at, and could you use fordi instead?

For at introduces a subordinate clause expressing reason (“for the fact that…”). You can also use fordi (“because”)—takker oss fordi vi er tålmodige—but the fixed phrase takk for at… is very common in Norwegian.

Why is the clause vi er tålmodige in the present tense rather than the past tense?

The driver is thanking “us” for our (ongoing) quality of being patient, so the present tense er tålmodige is natural. If you wanted to emphasize patience demonstrated in the past, you could say fordi vi var tålmodige.

Why does the sentence say takker oss and not takker vi?

Oss is the object form of vi. After the verb takke (“to thank”), the entity being thanked must be in the accusative case, so you thank us → oss, not vi.

Can we rephrase takker oss for that vi er tålmodige using a noun instead of a clause?

Yes. A common alternative is takker oss for tålmodigheten, where tålmodigheten is the definite noun “the patience.” You can also say takker oss for vår tålmodighet (“thanks us for our patience”), which is equally correct and more concise.