Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Han er nesten avhengig av én serie og glemmer tidsfristen for eksamen. - He is almost addicted to one series and forgets the deadline for the exam.

Nesten means almost / nearly. Here, it modifies the adjective avhengig (dependent/addicted), so nesten avhengig = almost dependent / almost addicted.

Han er nesten avhengig av én serie = He is almost addicted to one series.

You can move nesten a bit, but not anywhere:

Han er nesten avhengig av én serie ✅ (most natural)
Han er avhengig av nesten én serie ❌ (sounds wrong; suggests “almost one series,” which doesn’t make sense)
Han nesten er avhengig av én serie ❌ (unnatural word order)

So in this kind of structure, nesten normally comes before the adjective or verb phrase it’s qualifying: nesten avhengig, nesten glemmer, etc.

Why do we say avhengig av and not just avhengig?

Avhengig av is a fixed combination: the adjective avhengig (dependent) normally takes the preposition av.

avhengig av noe(n) = dependent on / addicted to something/someone

So:

Han er avhengig av kaffe. = He is addicted to coffee.
Barn er avhengige av foreldrene sine. = Children are dependent on their parents.

You can’t drop av here. Han er avhengig én serie is ungrammatical. The preposition av introduces what he is dependent on.

What’s the difference between én serie and en serie?

Both are written with en, but én has an accent to show emphasis:

en serie = a series / one series (neutral, like the ordinary indefinite article)
én serie = one single series (stressed: only one, just one)

The accent tells you the number 1 is being stressed, like when you contrast numbers:

Han ser bare én serie, ikke to.
He watches only one series, not two.

Spoken Norwegian often shows this only by stress in the voice, but in writing én makes the emphasis clear.

Why is serie in the singular here? Could I say serier?

Serie is singular: én serie = one series/show.

If you say serier (plural), you change the meaning:

én serie = one specific series he’s almost addicted to
serier = (some) series in general, more than one

Examples:

Han er nesten avhengig av én serie.
He is almost addicted to one (particular) series.
Han er nesten avhengig av serier.
He is almost addicted to series/TV shows (in general).

Both are grammatically fine, but they describe different situations.

What does tidsfristen mean exactly, and why is it in the definite form?

Tidsfrist is a compound noun:

tid = time
frist = deadline / limit

Together: tidsfrist = deadline.
With the definite ending -en: tidsfristen = the deadline.

In the sentence:

glemmer tidsfristen for eksamen = forgets the deadline for the exam

We use the definite form because we’re talking about a specific, known deadline (for that exam), not just any random deadline. Norwegian often uses the definite form where English uses the:

Jeg rakk tidsfristen.
I made the deadline.

How is the compound tidsfrist formed, and why is there an s in the middle?

Norwegian makes many compound nouns by combining two words. Here:

tid
- frist → tid
  - s
    - frist = tidsfrist

The s is a common linking consonant (called fuge-s in Norwegian). It doesn’t carry meaning by itself; it just helps the compound sound more natural and is often historically based.

Other examples:

arbeid
- dag → arbeidsdag (workday)
sommer
- ferie → sommerferie (summer vacation, no linking s here)

So you don’t say tidfrist; the correct form is tidsfrist.

Why is it for eksamen and not for eksamenen?

Eksamen is a masculine noun:

indefinite: en eksamen = an exam
definite: eksamenen = the exam

You can say for eksamenen, and that would literally be for the exam. However, in many set phrases Norwegian prefers the bare singular (without the definite ending), especially in school/university contexts:

å lese til eksamen = to study for (the) exam
nervøs før eksamen = nervous before (the) exam

In these kinds of expressions, eksamen is understood as that known exam, so English uses the, but Norwegian often leaves it as eksamen without -en.

So:

tidsfristen for eksamen ≈ the deadline for the exam (natural Norwegian)

Why is glemmer in the present tense? How would the sentence change in past tense?

Glemmer is the present tense of å glemme (to forget). In Norwegian, the present tense is used for:

Regular/habitual actions
- Han glemmer tidsfristen.
  He forgets the deadline (habitually / tends to forget).
Things happening now
- Han glemmer tidsfristen akkurat nå.
  He is forgetting the deadline right now.

In your sentence, it suggests he tends to forget the deadline, probably because he’s so into the series.

To put it in the past (a completed event):

Han var nesten avhengig av én serie og glemte tidsfristen for eksamen.
He was almost addicted to one series and forgot the deadline for the exam.

Why don’t we repeat the subject in the second part? Why not Han er … og han glemmer …?

Norwegian, like English, doesn’t need to repeat the subject if it’s the same in both clauses and they are joined by og (and).

So:

Han er nesten avhengig av én serie og glemmer tidsfristen for eksamen.
= Han er … og (han) glemmer …

You can say:

Han er nesten avhengig av én serie, og han glemmer tidsfristen for eksamen.

This is also correct, and sounds a bit more emphatic or carefully separated. But omitting the second han is very natural and normal conversational style.

Can I move nesten somewhere else, like Han glemmer nesten tidsfristen? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move nesten, but the meaning shifts depending on what it modifies.

Original: Han er nesten avhengig av én serie og glemmer tidsfristen …
- nesten modifies avhengig
- Meaning: He is almost addicted, and (as a result / in addition) he forgets the deadline.
Alternative: Han er avhengig av én serie og glemmer nesten tidsfristen for eksamen.
- nesten modifies glemmer
- Meaning: He almost forgets the deadline (but presumably doesn’t actually forget, or not every time).
Han glemmer nesten tidsfristen for eksamen.
- Means: He almost forgets the deadline for the exam. (i.e. he remembers at the last moment)

So the position of nesten tells you what is “almost”:

nesten avhengig → his dependency is almost complete
nesten glemmer → the forgetting is almost happening, but not quite

How do you pronounce the tricky words avhengig, tidsfristen, and eksamen?

Approximate pronunciations (Bokmål, neutral accent):

avhengig: [av-HENG-ee]
- av like ahv
- heng like English hang but with e (like hen)
- ig often like -ee in many accents (not like English ig in big)
tidsfristen: [TIDS-fris-ten]
- tids: like tids, with a clear d and s
- frist: like freest (shorter vowel)
- -en: like a short unstressed uhn
eksamen: [ek-SAA-men]
- ek: like eck
- sa: long a sound (like in British father)
- men: like men but a bit shorter and unstressed

These are rough guides; actual pronunciation varies by dialect, but this gives a workable standard Norwegian approximation.