Hun bytter mobilabonnement fordi det gamle er for dyrt.

She changes her mobile plan because the old one is too expensive.

Breakdown of Hun bytter mobilabonnement fordi det gamle er for dyrt.

• være: to be
• hun: she
• fordi: because
• gammel: old
• bytte: to change
• mobilabonnementet: the mobile subscription
• det: the one
• for dyrt: too expensive

Questions & Answers about Hun bytter mobilabonnement fordi det gamle er for dyrt.

What does bytter mean here, and how is it different from other verbs like skifter or endrer?

Bytter is the present tense of å bytte, which means to change / to switch / to exchange.

In this sentence, Hun bytter mobilabonnement means She is changing (switching) her mobile phone plan.

Comparison:

• å bytte – to change from one thing to another (often replacing something with something else)
  
  • Hun bytter mobilabonnement. – She changes her mobile plan (gets a new one instead of the old one).
• å skifte – very similar to å bytte; often used for clothes, tire changes, etc. In many contexts bytte and skifte overlap.
• å endre – to alter/modify something (often more abstract, like rules, settings, text)
  
  • Han endrer planen. – He changes/edits the plan.

Here, bytter is the most natural verb for switching from one subscription to another.

What exactly is mobilabonnement and why is it written as one word?

Mobilabonnement is a compound noun:

• mobil = mobile phone
• abonnement = subscription

Put together: mobilabonnement = mobile phone subscription / mobile plan.

Norwegian very often writes compounds as a single word (where English might use two words or a hyphen):

• mobilabonnement (mobile subscription)
• bussbillett (bus ticket)
• språkkurs (language course)

This is standard spelling, not optional; writing it as mobil abonnement would look wrong to a native speaker.

What does fordi mean, and does it affect word order?

Fordi means because and introduces a subordinate clause (a reason clause).

In Norwegian, fordi is a subordinating conjunction. It:

• Comes at the start of the reason clause.
• Is followed by normal subject–verb order (not inverted):

fordi det gamle er for dyrt
because the old one is too expensive

So:

• Main clause: Hun bytter mobilabonnement (subject–verb–object)
• Subordinate clause: fordi det gamle er for dyrt (subject–verb–predicative)

You cannot say fordi er det gamle for dyrt here; that would be ungrammatical.

What is det gamle referring to, and why is there no noun after it?

Det gamle literally means the old (one).

• det – neuter singular definite article/pronoun
• gammelt = old (neuter form of gammel)
• In the definite form with det it becomes det gamle.

The noun mobilabonnement is understood from context, so Norwegian omits it:

• det gamle (mobilabonnementet) = the old (mobile subscription)

English often uses one or one(s): the old one, the new one. Norwegian instead uses det + adjective (for neuter singular), den + adjective (for common gender singular), and de + adjective (for plural):

• det nye – the new one (neuter)
• den gamle – the old one (common gender)
• de gamle – the old ones (plural)

Why is it for dyrt and not just dyrt? What does for mean here?

Dyrt is the neuter singular form of dyr = expensive.

For dyrt means too expensive:

• dyrt – expensive
• for dyrt – too expensive (more expensive than acceptable)

So the clause det gamle er for dyrt means the old one is too expensive, not just the old one is expensive.

Why is the adjective dyrt ending in -t instead of dyr or dyre?

In Norwegian, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun.

Basic forms of dyr (expensive):

• Common gender singular (en-words): dyr
  
  • en dyr bil – an expensive car
• Neuter singular (et-words): dyrt
  
  • et dyrt hus – an expensive house
• Plural: dyre
  
  • dyre biler – expensive cars

Here, det gamle refers to (det) mobilabonnementet, which is neuter:

• et mobilabonnement – a mobile subscription
• So we use dyrt: det gamle er for dyrt.

What gender is mobilabonnement, and how would you say it with the article?

Mobilabonnement is a neuter noun.

• Indefinite singular: et mobilabonnement – a mobile subscription
• Definite singular: mobilabonnementet – the mobile subscription
• Indefinite plural: mobilabonnementer – mobile subscriptions
• Definite plural: mobilabonnementene – the mobile subscriptions

If you expand the sentence fully with the definite form:

• Hun bytter mobilabonnement fordi det gamle mobilabonnementet er for dyrt.
  But normally you avoid repeating the noun and just say det gamle.

Could you put the subordinate clause first, like in English: “Because the old one is too expensive, she is changing her mobile plan”?

Yes, you can. The sentence would be:

Fordi det gamle er for dyrt, bytter hun mobilabonnement.

Two things happen:

1. Fordi det gamle er for dyrt comes first as a whole subordinate clause.
2. In the main clause, word order changes because of the V2 rule: the verb must be in second position.
   • Not: Fordi det gamle er for dyrt, hun bytter mobilabonnement. (wrong)
   • Correct: Fordi det gamle er for dyrt, bytter hun mobilabonnement.

Why is bytter in the present tense if in English we might say “She is going to change / She will change”?

Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about:

• An action happening now
• A planned or very near future action

So Hun bytter mobilabonnement can mean:

• She is changing her mobile plan (around now / in this period)
• She is going to change her mobile plan (it’s decided and will happen soon)

Context usually makes the exact time clear. English might choose is changing, is going to change, or will change, but Norwegian can keep bytter.

Can you also say Hun bytter til et nytt mobilabonnement? What is the difference?

Yes, both are correct, but they focus slightly differently:

1. Hun bytter mobilabonnement.

   • Neutral: she is changing her mobile plan (we don’t say what the new one is).

2. Hun bytter til et nytt mobilabonnement.

   • Emphasizes the direction/change to something new:
     She is switching to a new mobile plan.

In the second version:

• et nytt mobilabonnement – nytt is the neuter singular form of ny (new), agreeing with et mobilabonnement.
• The preposition til (to) highlights the destination/target of the change.