Breakdown of Vi melder fra hvis vi ser noe uvanlig.
vi
we
se
to see
hvis
if
noe
anything
melde fra
to report
uvanlig
unusual
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Questions & Answers about Vi melder fra hvis vi ser noe uvanlig.
What does the expression bold "melder fra" mean, and how is it different from plain bold "melde"?
bold "Melde fra" is a particle verb meaning “to notify/let someone know.” On its own, bold "melde" often means “to report/announce/register” and typically takes a direct object.
- bold "Vi melder fra." = We notify. (intransitive; the recipient can be added with bold "til")
- bold "Vi melder om en sak." = We report about a matter (news-like). Common near-synonyms:
- bold "si fra" (very common, colloquial)
- bold "gi beskjed" (very common)
- bold "varsle" (alert/warn)
- bold "rapportere" (formal)
- bold "anmelde" (report to the police specifically)
Why is the verb in the present (bold "melder", bold "ser") when English would use “will”?
Norwegian often uses the present tense for future meaning in conditionals. bold "Vi melder fra hvis vi ser ..." naturally means “We will report if we see …”. You can add a future marker for nuance:
- bold "Vi skal melde fra ..." (intention/plan)
- bold "Vi kommer til å melde fra ..." (likelihood/prediction)
- bold "Hvis vi skulle se ..." (more hypothetical/polite: “if we should happen to see”)
Can I move the bold "hvis"-clause to the front, and what happens to word order?
Yes: bold "Hvis vi ser noe uvanlig, melder vi fra." When a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause still follows V2 word order, so you get inversion: bold "melder vi" (not bold "vi melder") after the comma. No comma is needed in the original sentence where the subordinate clause comes last.
Why is it bold "noe uvanlig" and not bold "noen uvanlig"?
bold "Noe" is the neuter “something/anything” used with uncountables or unspecified things; bold "noen" is used with plural count nouns (and sometimes singular people). After bold "hvis," English “anything unusual” corresponds to Norwegian bold "noe uvanlig."
Why is the adjective form bold "uvanlig" here? Should it be bold "uvanligt" or bold "uvanlige"?
After bold "noe," adjectives take the neuter, indefinite form. For adjectives ending in -lig (and -ig, -sk), Bokmål does not add -t in the neuter. So it is bold "noe uvanlig," not bold "noe uvanligt." Plural or definite would be bold "uvanlige": bold "de uvanlige hendelsene."
Could I say bold "noe som er uvanlig" instead of bold "noe uvanlig"?
Yes. bold "Noe uvanlig" is compact; bold "noe som er uvanlig" is a relative clause spelling it out. Both are natural. To emphasize “any at all,” you can say bold "noe som helst uvanlig."
Where does the negation bold "ikke" go in such clauses?
- In main clauses, bold "ikke" goes after the finite verb: bold "Vi melder ikke fra."
- In subordinate clauses, bold "ikke" comes before the verb: bold "hvis vi ikke ser noe uvanlig" (not bold "hvis vi ser ikke ...").
What’s the difference between bold "hvis", bold "om", and bold "når" here?
- bold "hvis" = if (conditional). Safest and least ambiguous.
- bold "om" = if/whether. Often used for conditions too, but also marks indirect questions (“whether”), so it can be ambiguous.
- bold "når" = when/whenever. Use it if the event is expected or habitual: bold "Når vi ser noe uvanlig, melder vi fra."
How do I say who we notify and what we notify about?
Use bold "til" for the recipient and bold "om" for the topic:
- bold "Vi melder fra til sjefen om feilen hvis vi ser noe uvanlig."
- bold "Meld fra til meg om dette."
Can I drop the second bold "vi" and say bold "Vi melder fra hvis ser noe uvanlig"?
No. Norwegian requires an explicit subject in each clause. You must say bold "hvis vi ser ..."
Is bold "melde fra" separable with tense or auxiliaries?
Yes, the particle stays after the verb:
- Infinitive: bold "å melde fra"
- Present perfect: bold "har meldt fra"
- With modal: bold "skal melde fra", bold "må melde fra" Do not place bold "fra" before the verb.
Are there good everyday alternatives to bold "melder fra"?
Yes:
- bold "Vi sier fra hvis vi ser noe uvanlig." (very common)
- bold "Vi gir beskjed hvis vi ser noe uvanlig." (very common)
- bold "Vi varsler hvis vi ser noe uvanlig." (alert/warn)
- bold "Vi rapporterer ..." (formal/organizational)
Could I write bold "ifra" instead of bold "fra" (bold "melder ifra")?
In Bokmål, both bold "si fra/melde fra" and bold "si ifra/melde ifra" occur. bold "fra" is the most neutral/standard in formal writing, while bold "ifra" is common in speech and informal text. Both are widely understood.
How is the sentence pronounced?
Approximate, Eastern Norwegian:
- bold "Vi" [vee]
- bold "melder" [MEL-der] (clear “l” and a schwa-like -er)
- bold "fra" [frah] with a long a
- bold "hvis" often pronounced [vis] (the h is usually silent)
- bold "ser" [sehr]
- bold "noe" [NOH-eh] or reduced to [no]
- bold "uvanlig" [oo-VAHN-lee] Natural rhythm: Vi MEL-der fra | hvis vi SER | NO-e u-VAN-lig.