Kunden hvis bestilling mangler utstyr, ringer oss.

The customer whose order lacks equipment calls us.

Breakdown of Kunden hvis bestilling mangler utstyr, ringer oss.

• ringe: to call
• oss: us
• kunden: the customer
• bestillingen: the order

Questions & Answers about Kunden hvis bestilling mangler utstyr, ringer oss.

Is the comma placement correct in this sentence?

Not quite. In Norwegian you don’t put a comma between the subject and the verb. You have two good options:

• Restrictive (identifies which customer): Kunden hvis bestilling mangler utstyr ringer oss. (no commas)
• Non‑restrictive (adds extra info): Kunden, hvis bestilling mangler utstyr, ringer oss. (commas on both sides of the relative clause)

The version with only one comma at the end — Kunden hvis bestilling mangler utstyr, ringer oss. — is nonstandard.

What does hvis mean here? I thought it meant “if.”

Here hvis is a relative possessive pronoun meaning whose. Norwegian hvis most often means “if,” but in relative clauses it can mean “whose,” e.g. kunden hvis bestilling… = “the customer whose order…”.

Is using hvis for “whose” formal? What would people say in everyday speech?

Yes, hvis as “whose” is more formal/written. In everyday speech people often paraphrase:

• Kunden som har en bestilling som mangler utstyr ringer oss.
• Kunden med en bestilling der det mangler utstyr ringer oss.

Can I just use som instead of hvis to mean “whose”?