Breakdown of Bonden smiler når han ser at laksen sin allerede er solgt.
Questions & Answers about Bonden smiler når han ser at laksen sin allerede er solgt.
In Norwegian, the definite form of a noun is marked by adding a suffix rather than using a separate word.
- en bonde = “a farmer” (indefinite)
- bonden = “the farmer” (definite)
So bonden literally means the farmer.
når is a temporal conjunction meaning “when” in the sense of “whenever” or “as soon as.”
- Use når for:
• repeated or habitual actions (“Whenever he sees …”)
• future events (“When he arrives tomorrow …”) - Use da only for a single past event (“Da han kom, begynte det å regne” = “When he came, it started to rain”).
In our sentence, når signals the moment (or each time) the farmer notices that the salmon is sold.
sin is a reflexive possessive pronoun. It always refers back to the subject of its own clause (here bonden).
- laksen sin = the farmer’s own salmon
If you used hans, it would refer to someone else’s salmon: - laksen hans = “someone else’s salmon” (or “his salmon,” referring to another male).
When ser (to see) introduces what is seen, Norwegian uses the conjunction at (that) to start a subordinate clause.
Structure after at:
- Subject (laksen sin)
- Adverb (allerede)
- Verb (er)
- Complement (solgt)
So ser at laksen sin allerede er solgt follows the standard subordinate‐clause order: Subject–Adverb–Verb–Object/Complement.
allerede means “already.” In Norwegian subordinate clauses, adverbs of time usually come immediately after the subject and before the finite verb. That’s why it’s laksen sin allerede er solgt rather than laksen sin er allerede solgt. In a main clause you might see:
- Han har allerede solgt laksen (“He has already sold the salmon”).
er solgt is the passive/resultative construction using present‐tense være (to be) + past participle. It conveys that the salmon is in the state of having been sold (i.e. “is sold” / “has been sold”).
- Passive/resultative: er solgt = “is/has been sold”
If you wanted the active present perfect, you’d use har- past participle:
- han har solgt laksen = “he has sold the salmon.”