Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Blir det sent, melder jeg fra til barnevakten. - If it gets late, I will notify the babysitter.

Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about the near or general future. Blir det sent literally “becomes it late” is understood as “if it gets/will get late.” You don’t need a future marker like English “will.” Using skal here would sound odd or change the meaning (more like intention/plan).

Can you really express “if” without hvis/om as in Blir det sent?

Yes. This is a common “bare conditional.” A verb-first clause like Blir det sent is understood as “If it gets late.” You could also say:

Hvis det blir sent, …
Om det blir sent, … (fine in speech; some style guides prefer hvis for “if” and om for “whether,” but both are widely used)
More formal: Skulle det bli sent, …

Why is it melder jeg and not jeg melder after the comma?

Norwegian main clauses are V2 (the finite verb is in second position). When a clause or adverbial is fronted (here, Blir det sent), the finite verb in the next main clause comes before the subject: melder jeg. If the sentence started with the subject, you’d say Jeg melder fra …

What does the expression melde fra mean?

It’s a fixed verb-particle phrase meaning “to notify/let someone know/report.” It’s similar to si fra or gi beskjed, but melde fra can sound a bit more formal or official depending on context.

Why til barnevakten? Which prepositions go with melde fra?

Use til for the recipient: melde fra til barnevakten (“notify the babysitter”).
Use om for the topic: melde fra om en forsinkelse (“notify about a delay”).
You can also say just melde fra if the recipient or topic is obvious from context.

Is melde ifra also correct? What about si fra or gi beskjed?

Yes. Both melde fra and melde ifra are accepted in Bokmål. Si fra is very common and a bit more informal; gi beskjed is neutral and very common. Rough nuance:

si fra = tell/let someone know (informal/everyday)
gi beskjed = give word/let someone know (neutral)
melde fra = notify/report (slightly more formal or administrative)

Why is it sent and not sen?

Sent is the adverb form (neuter singular used adverbially): “late” as in “It’s getting late.” Sen is the adjective: Jeg blir sen = “I’ll be late” (describing the person). There’s also the alternative forms sein/seint; seint is common in Nynorsk and also allowed in Bokmål.

Could I say Hvis det blir sent, melder jeg fra … instead?

Absolutely. Hvis det blir sent, melder jeg fra til barnevakten is fully correct and perhaps the most straightforward for learners. Om det blir sent is also fine.

Why is there a comma after Blir det sent?

When a conditional or other fronted clause comes first, Norwegian convention places a comma before the following main clause: Blir det sent, melder jeg … The comma marks the boundary between the clauses.

Why the definite form barnevakten and not barnevakt?

Because it refers to a specific, known babysitter in the situation. Norwegian uses the suffixed definite article for specific reference: barnevakten = “the babysitter.” The indefinite barnevakt would be “a babysitter.”

Is barnevakta also correct?

Yes. In Bokmål, many nouns can be treated as feminine; then the definite feminine ending is -a: barnevakta. Both barnevakten (masc./common gender) and barnevakta (feminine) are correct; choose one gender system and be consistent in a text.

What’s the difference between det blir sent and jeg blir sen?

Det blir sent: “It’s going to get late” (time in general; a dummy subject).
Jeg blir sen: “I will be late” (the speaker is late). Both are natural, but they emphasize different things.

Can I say jeg melder barnevakten without til?

No. With this meaning, melde fra needs til to mark the recipient: melde fra til barnevakten. Without til, melde would need a different construction (e.g., melde barnevakten på et kurs = “register the babysitter for a course,” which is a different meaning).

Where does fra go? Can I say melder jeg til barnevakten fra?

Keep fra close to the verb: melder jeg fra til barnevakten is the natural order. Placing fra after the recipient (melder jeg til barnevakten fra) sounds wrong.

Why isn’t jeg capitalized?

In Norwegian, the first-person singular pronoun jeg is not capitalized unless it begins a sentence. Only proper nouns are capitalized by default.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

blir: long i; roughly “bleer.”
det: often “deh.”
sent: long e; pronounced “sehnt” with a clear final t.
melder: “MEL-der.”
jeg: varies by region; common is “yai” or “jæi.”
barnevakten: stress on the first syllable: “BAR-ne-vak-ten,” with a hard k-t cluster in vakt.