Hun skriver i dagboken at hun knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring.

She writes in the diary that she hardly remembers life before she became a teenager.

Breakdown of Hun skriver i dagboken at hun knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring.

• hun: she
• i: in
• skrive: to write
• at: that
• før: before
• bli: to become
• huske: to remember
• dagboken: the diary
• tenåringen: the teenager
• knapt: hardly
• livet: the life

Questions & Answers about Hun skriver i dagboken at hun knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring.

Why is it i dagboken and not til dagboken or på dagboken?

In Norwegian you normally use i (“in”) for writing in something that has pages or an inside:

• skrive i dagboka/dagboken – write in the diary
• skrive i boka – write in the book
• skrive i notatblokka – write in the notebook

til (“to”) is used more for recipients, not for physical containers:

• skrive et brev til henne – write a letter to her

på (“on”) is used more for surfaces or platforms:

• skrive på tavla – write on the blackboard
• skrive på veggen – write on the wall

So i dagboken literally means “in the diary,” which matches how we think of writing inside a diary’s pages.

Why is it i dagboken (“in the diary”) and not i en dagbok (“in a diary”)?

Norwegian uses the definite form when the thing is specific and known in the context. Here, it is understood that she has her own diary that she regularly writes in, so it is the diary, not just a random diary.

• i dagboken = in the (known, specific) diary
• i en dagbok = in a diary (some diary, not specified which)

You would use i en dagbok if you were speaking more generally, for example:

• Det er lurt å skrive i en dagbok.
  It’s a good idea to write in a diary.

Can you also say Hun skriver i dagboka instead of Hun skriver i dagboken?

Yes. Both dagboken and dagboka are correct in Bokmål. The noun bok (book) can be treated as:

• masculine: en dagbok – dagboken
• or feminine: ei dagbok – dagboka

Most speakers mix masculine and feminine for many nouns in everyday speech, so dagboka is very common and often sounds more colloquial.

In more formal written Bokmål, dagboken is slightly more common, but both are accepted.

Is the word order at hun knapt husker special? Could you also say at hun husker knapt?

In a subordinate clause introduced by at, the normal word order is:

(subjunction) + subject + adverb + verb …

So:

• at hun knapt husker = (that) she hardly remembers

This is the neutral pattern, just like:

• at hun ikke husker – that she doesn’t remember
• at hun ofte husker – that she often remembers

At hun husker knapt is also grammatically possible and will be understood, but it sounds a bit less neutral and can give a slightly more emphatic or stylistic feel. The “default textbook” version is at hun knapt husker.

What exactly does knapt mean here? Is it the same as nesten ikke?

Knapt is an adverb meaning barely / hardly. It suggests that there is very, very little of something:

• hun knapt husker – she hardly remembers / can barely remember

Related expressions:

• nesten ikke – almost not
  
  • Hun nesten ikke husker livet … (usually Hun husker nesten ikke livet …)
    Very close in meaning to knapt; this is probably the most direct alternative.
• så vidt – just barely
  
  • Hun husker så vidt livet …
    Implies she remembers a tiny bit, just enough.

In this sentence, knapt and nesten ikke are very close. Knapt can sound a bit more compact and slightly more formal than nesten ikke, but both are common.

Why is it før hun ble tenåring and not før hun var tenåring?

Ble (past of bli) expresses a change of state: becoming something.

• bli tenåring – become a teenager

So før hun ble tenåring means “before she became a teenager”, i.e. before the moment of transition from child to teenager.

If you said før hun var tenåring, it would be strange or incorrect in this context, because var tenåring (“was a teenager”) describes the period when she already was a teenager. That would mean “before she was a teenager” in the sense of “earlier than a time when she was a teenager,” which doesn’t fit the idea of “her life before she became a teenager.”

Why is there no article in ble tenåring? Why not ble en tenåring?

With bli + noun for roles, professions, statuses, etc., Norwegian normally does not use an article:

• Hun ble lærer. – She became a teacher.
• Han ble far. – He became a father.
• Hun ble syk. – She became ill.
• Hun ble tenåring. – She became a teenager.

Ble en tenåring is not wrong grammatically, but it sounds less natural and more marked, as if you’re emphasizing “one teenager (among others)” as a countable item. In normal speech, you simply say ble tenåring.

What gender and forms does tenåring have?

Tenåring is usually treated as a masculine noun in Bokmål:

• singular indefinite: en tenåring – a teenager
• singular definite: tenåringen – the teenager
• plural indefinite: tenåringer – teenagers
• plural definite: tenåringene – the teenagers

Some speakers might also use feminine (ei tenåring – tenåringa) in dialectal or less standard forms, but the masculine pattern (en tenåring – tenåringen) is the standard to learn.

Why is it just livet and not livet sitt or hennes liv for “her life”?

In many contexts, Norwegian can leave out a possessive where English must use my/your/her. Here, it’s obvious that “the life before she became a teenager” is her own life, so just livet is natural.

Possible versions and nuances:

• hun knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring
  Neutral, and clearly means “her life” from context.
• hun knapt husker livet sitt før hun ble tenåring
  Adds a bit of emphasis that it is her own life (reflexive possessive sitt). Very natural too.
• hun knapt husker hennes liv før hun ble tenåring
  Sounds like it refers to another woman’s life (someone else’s), not her own, unless the context is very clear. So this is usually not what you want here.

So the sentence as given is perfectly normal; adding sitt would also be fine, but less necessary.

Why is husker in the present tense but ble in the past tense?

The tenses reflect two different time perspectives:

• hun knapt husker – present tense: describes her current state of memory (she now hardly remembers).
• hun ble tenåring – past tense: describes a finished past event (the moment when she became a teenager).

So the structure is:

• Hun skriver … at hun (nå) knapt husker livet før hun (den gangen) ble tenåring.
  She writes that she now barely remembers her life before she then became a teenager.

This mix of tenses is completely normal and parallels English quite well.

Could you drop the second hun and say Hun skriver i dagboken at knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring?

No. In Norwegian, each clause normally needs its own explicit subject. You cannot omit hun the way you might in some other languages.

Correct:

• Hun skriver i dagboken at hun knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring.

Incorrect:

• *Hun skriver i dagboken at knapt husker livet før hun ble tenåring.

The at-clause (at hun knapt husker …) must start with the subject hun.