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Hennes styrke er ro, men hennes svakhet er tidspress.

Hennes styrke er ro, men hennes svakhet er tidspress.
Her strength is calm, but her weakness is time pressure.
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Questions & Answers about Hennes styrke er ro, men hennes svakhet er tidspress.

Why is it HENNES and not HUN or HENNE?
  • hennes = possessive “her/hers” (shows ownership): Hennes styrke … = Her strength …
  • hun = subject pronoun “she”: Hun løper. = She runs.
  • henne = object pronoun “her”: Jeg ser henne. = I see her.
  • So you need hennes before a noun to mark possession.
Do I need to repeat HENNES in the second clause? Could I write “… men svakhet er tidspress”?
  • You should keep it: … men hennes svakhet er tidspress.
  • Without the possessive in the second clause, it’s odd/ambiguous in Norwegian.
  • Alternative that avoids repeating preposed HENNES: Styrken hennes er ro, men svakheten hennes er tidspress.
Can I say “styrken hennes” instead of “hennes styrke”? What’s the difference?
  • Yes. Two standard patterns:
    • Preposed possessive: Hennes styrke … (noun stays indefinite: styrke)
    • Postposed possessive: Styrken hennes … (noun becomes definite: styrken)
  • Nuance: preposed can put a bit more emphasis on the possessor; postposed is often more neutral/natural in everyday style. Both are correct.
Could I use SIN instead of HENNES here?
  • Not in this exact sentence. sin/si/sitt/sine is the reflexive possessive and refers back to the subject of the clause.
  • Here, the clause’s subject is “hennes styrke” (the strength), not “hun.”
  • Correct uses:
    • Hun kjenner sin styrke. = She knows her (own) strength.
    • Hun kjenner hennes styrke. = She knows her (another woman’s) strength.
  • In your sentence, stick with hennes (or the postposed “styrken hennes/svakheten hennes”).
Why is there no article before STYRKE and SVAKHET?
  • With a preposed possessive (min, din, hans, hennes, etc.), Norwegian does not use an article: hennes styrke, not “hennes en styrke.”
  • If you move the possessive after the noun, the noun becomes definite: styrken hennes, svakheten hennes.
Why are RO and TIDSPRESS indefinite (no -en/-et)? Could they be definite?
  • Here they refer to the qualities in general, so indefinite is natural: ro, tidspress.
  • Definite would single out something specific:
    • … er roen = the particular calm (e.g., a specific calmness everyone’s been talking about).
    • … er tidspresset = the specific time pressure (in a certain situation).
  • For describing general traits, prefer the indefinite.
What’s the difference between RO and ROLIG?
  • ro = a noun, “calm/calmness/peace.”
  • rolig = an adjective, “calm.”
  • Your sentence uses a noun as a predicate: “… er ro.”
  • Alternatives with an adjective or verb:
    • Hennes styrke er å være rolig.
    • Hennes styrke er roen. (more specific/definite)
    • Hun er rolig, men … (rephrased sentence)
How is the compound TIDSPRESS formed? Why no hyphen?
  • It’s a compound of tid (time) + a linking -s-
    • press (pressure): tid-s-press → tidspress.
  • Norwegian generally writes compounds as one word (no hyphen) unless a hyphen improves readability or is required by style.
  • Pronunciation note: the cluster ds is commonly realized as [ts], so you’ll hear something like [tiːtsp-] at the start of tidspress.
Why is there a comma before MEN?
  • In Norwegian, you normally place a comma before men (“but”) when it links two main clauses: …, men …
  • Your sentence follows that standard rule.
How do you pronounce the sentence?
  • Approximate IPA (Standard East Norwegian):
    • Hennes styrke er ro, men hennes svakhet er tidspress.
    • [ˈhɛnːəs ˈstʏrkə ær ruː | mɛn ˈhɛnːəs ˈsvɑːkheːt ær ˈtiːtspɾɛs]
  • Tips:
    • y in styrke = fronted “u,” like German ü ([ʏ]).
    • ro has long u-sound: [ruː].
    • ds in tidspress → [ts].
    • r is typically a tap [ɾ] in Eastern accents; other dialects vary.
Can I flip the order: “Ro er hennes styrke …”?
  • Yes. Both are natural:
    • Hennes styrke er ro, men hennes svakhet er tidspress.
    • Ro er hennes styrke, men tidspress er hennes svakhet.
  • Choose the order that emphasizes what you want to highlight first.
What are the genders and basic forms of the key nouns?
  • styrke (common gender): en styrke, styrken, styrker, styrkene
  • svakhet (common gender): en svakhet, svakheten, svakheter, svakhetene
  • tidspress (neuter, usually uncountable): et tidspress, tidspresset
  • ro (uncountable): usually just ro; definite can be roen (or roa with feminine form), but is less common
Are there natural paraphrases with the same idea?
  • Yes, for variety or flow:
    • Hun trives i ro, men sliter under tidspress.
    • Styrken hennes er ro, men svakheten hennes er tidspress.
    • Hun er best når det er ro, men hun blir svakere under tidspress.
  • Related words:
    • tidsnød (time trouble, e.g., in chess), tidsklemme (time squeeze), frist (deadline).