Du fortjener en pause etter møtet.

You deserve a break after the meeting.

Breakdown of Du fortjener en pause etter møtet.

• du: you
• en: a
• møtet: the meeting
• etter: after
• pausen: the break
• fortjene: to deserve

Questions & Answers about Du fortjener en pause etter møtet.

Why is it møtet and not møte?

Because Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix. Møte is a neuter noun:

• Indefinite singular: et møte
• Definite singular: møtet
• Indefinite plural: møter
• Definite plural: møtene

Here, you’re talking about a specific meeting you and the listener know about, so you use the definite form: etter møtet.

Can I say etter et møte instead of etter møtet?

Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly:

• etter et møte = after a meeting (any/unspecified meeting, in general)
• etter møtet = after the meeting (a specific, known meeting)

What does fortjener mean, and how do you conjugate å fortjene?

Å fortjene = to deserve.

• Present: fortjener (Du fortjener …)
• Preterite: fortjente (Du fortjente …)
• Past participle: fortjent (Du har fortjent …) Common patterns:
• fortjene + noun: Du fortjener en pause.
• fortjene + å + infinitive: Du fortjener å ta en pause.

Why is it en pause and not just pause?

Pause is a countable noun, so you normally need an article or determiner. Du fortjener pause sounds wrong. Alternatives:

• Use a mass noun: Du fortjener hvile / litt hvile.
• Or another countable noun: Du fortjener en hvil.

Is ei pause possible?

In standard Bokmål, en pause (definite: pausen) is most common. Some speakers (and Nynorsk) use feminine forms: ei pause (definite: pausa). Those feminine forms are acceptable in Bokmål but less common; stick to en pause if in doubt.

Where do I put ikke to negate the sentence?

Place ikke after the finite verb:

• Du fortjener ikke en pause etter møtet. If you front the time phrase:
• Etter møtet fortjener du ikke en pause.

Can I start with Etter møtet? What happens to word order?

Yes. Norwegian main clauses are V2 (the finite verb is in second position):

• Etter møtet fortjener du en pause. Don’t say: ✗ Du fortjener etter møtet en pause (sounds awkward).

What’s the difference between etter and etterpå?

• etter is a preposition and takes a complement: etter møtet, etter lunsj, etter klokka fire.
• etterpå is an adverb meaning afterwards and stands alone: Du fortjener en pause etterpå. You can’t say ✗ etterpå møtet.

When do I use etter versus etter at?

• etter + noun/time: etter møtet, etter helga.
• etter at + clause: etter at møtet er ferdig. Note subordinate clause word order: etter at møtet er ferdig (not ✗ er møtet ferdig).

Is Du har fortjent en pause etter møtet okay? What’s the nuance?

Yes. Du har fortjent … (present perfect) emphasizes that your past effort has earned you a break now. Du fortjener … is a present-state evaluation. Both are natural; choose based on emphasis.

How do you pronounce fortjener and møtet?

• fortjener: stress on the second syllable. The tj is the soft kj-sound (like the German ich-sound), roughly like saying tye. Approx: for-TYE-ner.
• møtet: ø is like French eu in peu. The final -et is a light -eh. Approx: MØ-teh.

Do I need a comma after a fronted adverbial like Etter møtet?

No. In Norwegian you normally don’t insert a comma there:

• Etter møtet fortjener du en pause. Add a comma only if the initial part is very long or for clarity in complex sentences.

What are common collocations with pause?

• ta en pause (most common): Du fortjener å ta en pause.
• ha pause: Vi har pause etter møtet.
• Compound nouns: lunsjpause, kaffepause, pustepause.

Could I use other words than pause?

Yes, depending on nuance:

• avbrekk (a break/change of pace): Du fortjener et avbrekk.
• hvile (rest, mass noun): Du fortjener hvile.
• en hvil (a rest, countable): Du fortjener en hvil.
• Idiomatic: et pust i bakken (a breather).

Is møte a noun or a verb here?

A noun. The definite suffix -et in møtet shows it’s the noun (the meeting). The verb å møte (to meet/attend) would not take that suffix and would conjugate as møter, møtte, har møtt.

Why is it fine to say etter lunsj without an article, but not etter møte?

Some time-of-day and activity nouns behave like mass or set expressions and often drop the article: etter lunsj, etter jobb, etter skole. Møte is a countable event, so you normally use an article or the definite form: etter et møte or etter møtet.