Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Etter hvert vil de flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv. - Over time they want to move from the bedsit and live together in a larger shared flat.

Etter hvert vil de flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv.

Over time they want to move from the bedsit and live together in a larger shared flat.

Breakdown of Etter hvert vil de flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv.

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Questions & Answers about Etter hvert vil de flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv.

What exactly does Etter hvert mean here, and is it always written as two words?

Etter hvert literally means “after each (thing)”, but idiomatically it means “gradually / over time / eventually”.

In this sentence, it suggests that the change won’t happen immediately, but as time passes they will end up moving and living together.

Spelling and usage:

The standard and recommended spelling is two words: etter hvert.
You may see etterhvert as one word in informal writing, but it is not standard and is best avoided in formal contexts.
Compare:
- etter hvert = over time / eventually
- etter hvert som = as something happens (e.g. Etter hvert som de blir eldre, … = As they get older, …)

Why is the verb before the subject in Etter hvert vil de flytte? Why not Etter hvert de vil flytte?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position.

In this sentence:

First element: Etter hvert (adverbial)
Second element: vil (finite verb)
Third element: de (subject)
Then the rest: flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv

So Etter hvert vil de flytte … is correct word order.

Etter hvert de vil flytte … breaks the V2 rule and is ungrammatical in standard Norwegian.

Why is vil used for the future here? Could you also say it with the present tense?

Norwegian does not have a dedicated future tense like English “will do”. You normally express future in three main ways:

Present tense with a future meaning, if the context is clear:
- De flytter fra hybelen snart. = They are moving / will move out soon.
skal + infinitive (plan, obligation, arrangement):
- De skal flytte fra hybelen. = They are going to move / are supposed to move.
vil + infinitive (wish, will, tendency, or neutral future):
- De vil etter hvert flytte … = Over time, they will end up moving …

In this sentence, vil can be read as:

a fairly neutral future: this is something that will happen over time, or
a hint of volition: this is something they want / intend to do.

You could also use the present for the future with a time expression, for example:

Etter hvert flytter de fra hybelen og bor sammen i et større kollektiv.

That would still be understandable, but vil makes the future meaning clearer and a bit more natural in this particular sentence.

Why is it fra hybelen and not fra hybel or fra hybelen av?

Several things are going on here:

Definite vs. indefinite
- hybel = a bedsit / small room (indefinite)
- hybelen = the bedsit (definite, a specific one) They are clearly talking about their current specific place, so Norwegian uses the definite form: fra hybelen = from the bedsit (they live in now).
Preposition choice
- fra is the normal preposition for from / away from.
- fra hybelen is perfectly natural Norwegian for move away from that place.
- You can also say flytte ut av hybelen, which emphasizes the physical act of moving out of the room/apartment.
The phrase fra hybelen av is not idiomatic here and would sound wrong. You just say:
- flytte fra hybelen
- or flytte ut av hybelen

What is the gender and declension of hybel, and how do we get hybelen?

Hybel is a masculine noun in Norwegian.

Indefinite and definite forms:

Singular
- indefinite: en hybel = a bedsit / small rented room
- definite: hybelen = the bedsit
Plural
- indefinite: hybler = bedsits / small rooms
- definite: hyblene = the bedsits

So hybelen is simply the masculine definite singular form of hybel:

fra hybelen = from the bedsit

What does kollektiv mean here, and how is it different from leilighet?

In this context, et kollektiv means a shared flat or shared house, where several (usually unrelated) people live together, sharing common spaces like the kitchen and living room.

Comparison:

en leilighet = an apartment / flat
This says nothing about how many people live there or what their relationship is.
et kollektiv = a shared apartment/house, typically:
- Several adults (often students or young people)
- Not a family
- Each has their own bedroom
- They share kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc.

So you can think of kollektiv as:

housing arrangement: shared living situation
rather than a building type.

Example:

De bor i et kollektiv. = They live in a shared flat / house (with others).

Why is it i et større kollektiv and not i et stort kollektiv?

Both are grammatically correct, but they mean slightly different things:

i et større kollektiv = in a larger collective
The comparative større implies a comparison to something already known:
- larger than their current place
- or larger than some previously mentioned collective
i et stort kollektiv = in a big collective
This just describes the collective as big, without explicitly comparing it to something else.

In the original sentence, større suggests:

they are moving from a smaller place (a bedsit) to a larger shared home,
or perhaps from a small shared place to a bigger one.

Why is bo in the infinitive, and why don’t we repeat vil before it (why not vil de flytte … og vil bo …)?

Infinitive after a modal verb
- vil is a modal verb.
- After a modal, the main verb is in the bare infinitive (without å):
  - vil flytte, vil bo, vil spise, vil dra, etc.
Coordinated infinitives When two infinitives are governed by the same modal, Norwegian normally:
- uses the modal once
- and then coordinates the infinitives with og:
- vil flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen …
So the structure is:
- vil
  - flytte og bo
You can technically say:
- vil flytte fra hybelen og vil bo sammen … but it sounds heavy and unnatural in normal speech and writing. The natural choice is to use vil only once.

What exactly does bo sammen mean? Could you say bo med hverandre instead?

Bo sammen means “live together” in the sense of sharing a home / residence.

bo = to live (somewhere), to reside
sammen = together

So:

bo sammen = live together (share a home)
bo sammen i et kollektiv = live together in a shared flat / house

About bo med hverandre:

It is grammatically possible, but it sounds odd and unidiomatic.
Native speakers would almost always say:
- bo sammen
- or bo sammen med noen (live together with someone)

Also note:

leve sammen focuses more on living life together as a couple (relationship focus),
bo sammen focuses on sharing a place to live (housing focus).

Could the word order be bo i et større kollektiv sammen instead of bo sammen i et større kollektiv?

Yes, bo i et større kollektiv sammen is grammatically correct, but the most neutral and common order is:

bo sammen i et større kollektiv

General tendency:

Verb
Manner adverbials (how?) – here: sammen
Place adverbials (where?) – here: i et større kollektiv

So bo sammen i et større kollektiv follows a very typical pattern:

bo (verb)
sammen (manner: together)
i et større kollektiv (place: in a larger shared flat/house)

Putting sammen at the very end (after the place phrase) can give a slight extra emphasis on together, but it is less neutral and less common in this exact context.

Can Etter hvert be moved to another place in the sentence, like De vil etter hvert flytte … or De vil flytte … etter hvert?

Yes, you can move etter hvert around, and all these are possible, with slightly different emphasis:

Etter hvert vil de flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv.
- Time expression at the front.
- Emphasizes the time frame / development: Over time, this is what will happen.
De vil etter hvert flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv.
- Very natural and common.
- Focus is more evenly on they will, over time, do this.
De vil flytte fra hybelen og bo sammen i et større kollektiv etter hvert.
- Also possible.
- The “eventually” feeling can be a bit stronger at the end, summarizing the whole process.

All three are grammatically correct. The choice is mainly about style and emphasis, not correctness.