Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Onkelen min sier at fetteren min har fått jobb, mens kusinen min fortsatt studerer. - My uncle says that my male cousin has gotten a job, while my female cousin is still studying.

Post‑position (onkelen min) is more neutral and very common in everyday speech and writing.
Pre‑position (min onkel) can sound a bit more formal, emphatic, or contrastive (like “my uncle, not someone else’s”).

In this sentence, onkelen min is just the normal, neutral way to say “my uncle.”

Why do we have both fetteren and min in fetteren min? Isn’t that “double” marking?

Yes, this is called double definiteness, and it’s normal in Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk).

Pattern with a possessive after the noun:

fetter = cousin (indefinite)
fetteren = the cousin (definite)
fetteren min = my cousin

So when the possessive comes after the noun, you usually need:

the definite article ending (-en, -a, or -et), and
the possessive pronoun (min/mi/mitt/mine).

Examples:

boka mi = my (the) book
huset vårt = our (the) house
vennene deres = their (the) friends

Why is it fetter for one cousin and kusine for the other? Don’t both just mean “cousin”?

Norwegian distinguishes the gender of the cousin:

fetter = male cousin (usually first cousin, son of your aunt/uncle)
kusine = female cousin (usually first cousin, daughter of your aunt/uncle)

English uses cousin for both, but Norwegian normally marks the difference. So:

fetteren min = my male cousin
kusinen min = my female cousin

Why is the verb form har fått used instead of just fikk?

har fått is the present perfect (“has gotten / has received / has found”).
fikk is the simple past (“got”).

In Norwegian, har fått jobb suggests a result that is relevant now:

fetteren min har fått jobb
= my cousin has gotten a job / now he has one

If you said fetteren min fikk jobb, you’re focusing more on the event in the past, with less emphasis on the current result. In many contexts both are possible, but har fått jobb is very natural when talking about a recent change in someone’s situation.

Does har fått jobb literally mean “has received job”? Why is there no article (en jobb)?

Literally, yes: har fått = “has gotten/received.” But in idiomatic Norwegian, få jobb means to get a job / to find employment / to be hired.

As for the article:

English: “get a job”
Norwegian: very often just få jobb (no article)

This is an idiomatic pattern. Some fixed expressions drop the article:

få jobb = get a job
være på jobb = be at work
leite etter jobb = look for a job

You can say få en jobb, but that usually emphasizes one particular job, not employment in general. In this sentence, har fått jobb is the most natural expression.

What exactly does mens mean here? Is it just “while”?

mens can mean both:

“while” in a time sense (“at the same time as”), and
“while/whereas” in a contrasting sense.

In this sentence, it mainly expresses contrast:

fetteren min har fått jobb, mens kusinen min fortsatt studerer
≈ my male cousin has gotten a job, whereas my female cousin is still studying.

So mens links two situations and highlights how they differ.

Why is it at fetteren min har fått jobb and not something like at har fetteren min fått jobb?

In Norwegian subordinate clauses (clauses introduced by at, fordi, hvis, når, mens, etc.), the word order is different from a main clause.

Basic patterns:

Main clause: Verb is in second position
- Fetteren min har fått jobb.
Subordinate clause with at: Subject + verb (no inversion)
- at fetteren min har fått jobb

So after at (“that”), the word order is:

Subject: fetteren min
Verb: har
Rest: fått jobb

That’s why at har fetteren min fått jobb is wrong; inversion (har fetteren) is for main clauses with something in first position, not for at-clauses.

Why is the word order kusinen min fortsatt studerer and not kusinen min studerer fortsatt?

Because in a subordinate clause, the normal order is:

subject – adverb – verb

Here, that clause is also subordinate, introduced by mens:

… mens kusinen min fortsatt studerer.
subject = kusinen min
adverb = fortsatt
verb = studerer

In a main clause, the adverb typically comes after the verb:

Kusinen min studerer fortsatt.
= My cousin is still studying.

So:

Subordinate clause: (at/mens osv.) + subject + adverb + verb
Main clause: subject + verb + adverb

What exactly does fortsatt mean, and where can I put it?

fortsatt means “still” (in the sense of “continuing to be”).

In a main clause:

Kusinen min studerer fortsatt.
Kusinen min er fortsatt student.

In a subordinate clause (like in your sentence):

mens kusinen min fortsatt studerer
at hun fortsatt bor hjemme

So the basic rule:

Main clause: verb + fortsatt
Subordinate clause: subject + fortsatt
- verb

Why is it studerer (simple present) instead of something like “is studying”?

Norwegian usually does not have a separate “-ing” form for ongoing actions the way English does. The simple present often covers both:

Kusinen min studerer.
= My cousin studies.
= My cousin is studying.

Context decides whether it means a general habit or a current ongoing situation. In this context (“still studying” vs “got a job”), it clearly refers to her current activity/phase in life.

Why is it kusinen min and not kusina mi?

Both exist, depending on the style of Bokmål you use and how you treat feminine nouns:

kusine is grammatically feminine.
Definite singular forms:
- kusinen (common gender form)
- kusina (feminine form)

With a possessive after the noun:

kusinen min (using common gender)
kusina mi (using feminine)

In moderate/standard Bokmål, you’ll often see kusinen min.
In more colloquial or “feminine-friendly” Bokmål, many speakers prefer kusina mi.

Both are correct Bokmål; the sentence simply chooses the more common-gender style (kusinen min).

Could this sentence have the possessives before the nouns, like min onkel, min fetter, min kusine?

Yes, that’s possible, but the style and nuance change slightly.

For example:

Min onkel sier at min fetter har fått jobb, mens min kusine fortsatt studerer.

This is grammatically fine but sounds more formal or more emphatic/contrasty, almost like you are underlining that these are your relatives (not someone else’s).

In everyday Norwegian, it’s more natural to keep the original:

Onkelen min sier at fetteren min har fått jobb, mens kusinen min fortsatt studerer.

Is there anything special about the verb sier here?

sier is just the present tense of å si (“to say”):

å si = to say
han sier = he says / he is saying

Again, Norwegian doesn’t distinguish “he says” vs “he is saying” the way English does. Onkelen min sier at … can mean either, depending on context.