Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Det føles godt at jeg sendte søknaden rettidig før søknadsfristen og at jobbsamtalen kom så raskt. - It feels good that I sent the application on time before the application deadline and that the job interview came so quickly.

å føle (seg) = an active verb about a subject’s feelings:
- Jeg føler meg bra. = I feel good (physically/emotionally).
å føles = a so‑called “impersonal” or “middle” form that describes how something seems / feels in a general way:
- Det føles godt. = It feels good / That feels good.

In Det føles godt at jeg sendte …, the speaker isn’t describing their body or mood directly, but how the situation feels overall, so føles is natural.

You could say Jeg føler at det er godt at …, but it sounds heavier and less idiomatic than the simple Det føles godt at ….

Why is it godt and not bra in Det føles godt? Aren’t both “good”?

Both godt and bra can mean good, but there are patterns:

godt is the neuter form of god and often used:
- with the dummy subject det: Det er godt, Det føles godt, Det smaker godt
- about concrete qualities: taste, smell, temperature, comfort
bra is more general and often used:
- about performance or quality: Hun synger bra
- about health/mood: Jeg føler meg bra

In this exact expression, Det føles godt is more idiomatic than Det føles bra, though Det føles bra is not wrong and is also used in modern speech.

Think roughly:

Det føles godt = It feels pleasant / right / comforting.
Det føles bra = It feels OK / positive (slightly more casual).

Why do we say Det føles godt at … instead of Jeg føler at …?

Both are possible, but they’re not used in the same way:

Det føles godt at jeg sendte søknaden …
- Very idiomatic. Focus on the situation; “it” is a dummy subject.
Jeg føler at det er godt at jeg sendte søknaden …
- Grammatically fine but wordy and a bit heavier; it underlines “I feel that…” more explicitly.

Norwegian often prefers impersonal det with verbs like føles, virker, ser ut, høres ut when talking about general impressions:

Det virker lurt. – That seems smart.
Det høres bra ut. – That sounds good.

Your sentence fits that pattern.

What is going on with the word order in at jeg sendte søknaden rettidig før søknadsfristen? Why is the verb second in main clauses but not here?

In Norwegian:

Main clause: verb-second word order (V2).
- Jeg sendte søknaden rettidig.
- I går sendte jeg søknaden.
Subordinate clause (after at, fordi, hvis, når etc.): subject–verb word order.
- at jeg sendte søknaden rettidig (S–V)
- fordi han kom for sent
- hvis du har tid

So in your sentence:

Det føles godt → main clause (V2, føles is in second position)
at jeg sendte søknaden rettidig før søknadsfristen → subordinate clause, so:
- jeg (subject)
- sendte (verb)
- then objects/adverbials: søknaden rettidig før søknadsfristen

That’s exactly the standard pattern: V2 in main clauses, S–V in subordinate clauses.

Why is the past tense sendte used and not har sendt here?

Both jeg sendte (preterite) and jeg har sendt (present perfect) are possible, but nuance differs:

jeg sendte søknaden
- Simple past; the action is finished and just placed in the past.
- Often used when the time is clear from context: yesterday, last week, before the deadline.
jeg har sendt søknaden
- Present perfect; focuses more on the current result:
  - I have sent the application (so now it’s submitted).

In your sentence, the fact that the application was sent before the deadline is clearly completed in the past, and the speaker is mainly reflecting on that past action, so sendte is natural.

If you wanted to slightly emphasize the present result, you could say:

Det føles godt at jeg har sendt søknaden i tide.

What does rettidig mean, and is it common? Could I say something else instead?

rettidig means roughly “in due time / in a timely manner”.

However, in everyday spoken Norwegian, rettidig is:

quite formal or bureaucratic
less common in casual speech

More natural, everyday alternatives:

i tide – on time / in time
- Jeg sendte søknaden i tide før søknadsfristen.
i god tid (før) – well in advance (of)
- Jeg sendte søknaden i god tid før søknadsfristen.
tidlig nok – early enough (more colloquial)

So you’ll most often hear i tide or i god tid instead of rettidig in speech.

Is rettidig før søknadsfristen redundant? Doesn’t rettidig already imply “before the deadline”?

You’re right to notice this. Literally:

rettidig = in due time
før søknadsfristen = before the application deadline

So rettidig før søknadsfristen can sound a bit redundant or legalistic, like: “in due time before the deadline.” In formal or bureaucratic Norwegian, that redundancy is pretty common.

More natural everyday phrasing would be:

Jeg sendte søknaden i tide før søknadsfristen.
Jeg sendte søknaden i god tid før søknadsfristen.

Or even simpler (since the deadline is already implied):

Jeg sendte søknaden i tide.
Jeg sendte søknaden før fristen.

How is søknadsfristen built? Why the s in the middle and -en at the end?

søknadsfristen is a compound noun:

søknad – application
frist – deadline
-en – definite singular ending (“the”)

Between søknad and frist there’s a linking s, which is very common in Norwegian compounds:

arbeid + dag → arbeidsdag (workday)
fag + bok → fagbok (subject book)
søknad + frist → søknadsfrist (application deadline)

Then you add the definite ending:

søknadsfrist – an application deadline
søknadsfristen – the application deadline

So søknadsfristen literally = application‑deadline‑the.

Why are søknaden, søknadsfristen, and jobbsamtalen all in the definite form?

Norwegian uses the definite form when both speaker and listener know which specific thing is meant:

søknaden – the application (the one for this job)
søknadsfristen – the application deadline (for that same job)
jobbsamtalen – the job interview (for that application)

In English you also say the application, the deadline, the interview here, so the logic is similar.

If you used the indefinite forms (en søknad, en søknadsfrist, en jobbsamtale), it would sound like you’re talking about some random application / deadline / interview, not the specific ones already known from context.

Why do we use kom in at jobbsamtalen kom så raskt? Can an interview “come” in Norwegian?

Yes. Norwegian often uses komme about events or responses appearing / happening:

Svaret kom raskt. – The answer came quickly.
Regnet kom plutselig. – The rain came suddenly.
Jobbsamtalen kom så raskt. – The job interview came so quickly (was scheduled / happened quickly).

You could rephrase more explicitly:

… og at jeg fikk jobbsamtale så raskt. – and that I got a job interview so quickly.
… og at jobbsamtalen ble avtalt så raskt. – and that the job interview was arranged so quickly.

But kom is natural, metaphorical usage just like English “the opportunity came quickly”.

What is the nuance of så raskt? Could I say så fort or veldig raskt instead?

All of these are possible, with small differences in tone:

så raskt – so quickly
- neutral, maybe a bit more “neutral written Norwegian”.
så fort – so fast
- very common in speech; sounds slightly more colloquial.
veldig raskt / veldig fort – very quickly / very fast
- emphasizes degree (very), not comparison (“so …”).

In your sentence, all of these are fine:

… og at jobbsamtalen kom så raskt.
… og at jobbsamtalen kom så fort. (more colloquial)
… og at jobbsamtalen kom veldig raskt. (stronger emphasis)

Do I have to repeat at in … før søknadsfristen og at jobbsamtalen kom så raskt? Could I omit the second at?

You basically have two coordinated at‑clauses:

at jeg sendte søknaden rettidig før søknadsfristen
(at) jobbsamtalen kom så raskt

In Norwegian, repeating at is natural and often clearer:

Det føles godt at jeg sendte søknaden … og at jobbsamtalen kom så raskt.

You can omit the second at in informal speech:

Det føles godt at jeg sendte søknaden … og jobbsamtalen kom så raskt.

…but then og jobbsamtalen kom så raskt can be heard as a separate main clause, which slightly changes the structure and rhythm. Written Norwegian usually prefers repeating at to make it clear that both parts depend on Det føles godt.

Why is there no comma before og at jobbsamtalen kom så raskt?

Norwegian comma rules are different from English. In general:

There is usually no comma before og when it links:
- two verbs with the same subject
- two phrases within the same clause
- two subordinate clauses that belong to the same main clause

Here, og joins two subordinate at‑clauses that both depend on Det føles godt:

Det føles godt [at jeg sendte …] og [at jobbsamtalen kom …].

Since they belong to the same main clause and there is no change of subject at the main‑clause level, you normally don’t put a comma before og here.

You would use a comma when og connects two full main clauses:

Jeg sendte søknaden i tide, og jobbsamtalen kom så raskt.