Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hun glemte vottene, men regnjakken og støvlene holder henne tørr. - She forgot the mittens, but the raincoat and the boots keep her dry.

Norwegian marks “the” with a suffix on the noun. Here we’re talking about specific, known items (her mittens, her raincoat, her boots), so the definite forms are used.

vottene = the mittens (vott + -ene, definite plural)
regnjakken = the raincoat (regnjakke + -en, definite singular)
støvlene = the boots (støvler + -ne/-ene, definite plural)

Where is “her”? Why not say “her mittens / her raincoat / her boots”?

Norwegian often omits possessives when the possessor is obvious (especially with body parts and clothing belonging to the subject). So Hun glemte vottene naturally means “She forgot her mittens.”

You can add the reflexive possessive: vottene sine (“her own mittens,” possessor = subject).
vottene hennes usually means “another woman’s mittens” (or adds emphasis/contrast if it is indeed hers).

What’s the difference between hun, henne, hennes, and seg?

hun: subject “she.” Example: Hun kommer.
henne: object “her.” Example: Jeg ser henne.
hennes: possessive “her/hers” (non-reflexive). Example: Jakken hennes.
seg: reflexive object/possessive used when the subject is the same person/thing. Examples: Hun holder seg tørr; Jakken hennes → Jakken sin (if the subject owns it).

Why is it tørr and not tørre or tørt?

After verbs like holde, the adjective describes and agrees with the object (object predicative). The object here is henne (singular), so we use the singular common-gender form tørr.

Forms of “dry”: tørr (common sing.), tørt (neuter sing.), tørre (plural/definite).
Examples:
- Hun er tørr. (singular)
- Det er tørt. (neuter “it”/weather)
- Vottene er tørre. (plural “the mittens are dry”)

But the subject is plural (regnjakken og støvlene). Shouldn’t the adjective be plural?

No. The adjective describes henne (the object), not the subject. If the object were plural, the adjective would be plural:

Regnjakken og støvlene holder dem tørre. (“keep them dry”)

What does the construction holde + object + adjective mean?

It means “to keep [object] [adjective].”

Regnjakken holder henne varm. = The raincoat keeps her warm.
De nye skoene holder føttene dine tørre. = The new shoes keep your feet dry.

Why glemte and not har glemt?

glemte = preterite (simple past), a finished event in the past: “forgot.”
har glemt = present perfect, focuses on the present result: “has forgotten.” Both can work depending on context:
Hun glemte vottene i morges. (finished past event)
Hun har glemt vottene, så hun fryser nå. (relevant now)

What does men mean, and why is there a comma before it?

men means “but” and introduces a contrast. In Norwegian, you normally place a comma before men when it links two clauses: Hun glemte vottene, men …

How do I negate the second clause? Where does ikke go?

Typical choices:

… men regnjakken og støvlene holder henne ikke tørr. (common, pronoun before ikke)
… men regnjakken og støvlene holder ikke henne tørr. (also possible; puts slight emphasis on “her”) Both are acceptable; word order can reflect emphasis/information structure.

How do these nouns decline?

vott (a mitten): en vott – votten – votter – vottene
støvel (a boot): en støvel – støvelen – støvler – støvlene
regnjakke (a rain jacket/coat): en/ei regnjakke – regnjakken/regnjakka – regnjakker – regnjakkene Note: In Bokmål, both en and ei are possible for many feminine nouns; the definite singular then matches (regnjakken vs regnjakka).

Is støvlerne acceptable for “the boots”?

No, not in standard Bokmål. Use støvlene. Forms like “støvlerne” are Danish; “støvlan(e)” occurs in some dialects/Nynorsk.

Pronunciation tips for tricky words?

regnjakken: often “REIN-yah-ken” (the gn can sound like a y/n glide in many dialects).
støvlene: “STØV-le-ne” (ø like the vowel in French “peur”).
vottene: “VOT-te-ne” (short o).
henne: “HEN-ne.”
tørr: “tørr” (ø as above; rr can be a tap/trill depending on dialect).

What’s the difference between vott and hanske?

vott = mitten (one compartment for all fingers + separate thumb).
hanske = glove (separate fingers). So “vottene” = the mittens; “hanskene” = the gloves.

Could I rephrase with “even though”?

Yes: Selv om hun glemte vottene, holder regnjakken og støvlene henne tørr.
This keeps the same meaning but uses a subordinator instead of the coordinating men.