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Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin, men organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden.

Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin, men organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden.
He tries to protect his free time, but the organization often needs voluntary help in the evening.
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Questions & Answers about Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin, men organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden.

Why is it prøver å beskytte and not just prøver beskytte?

In Norwegian, most verbs that are followed by another verb in the infinitive need å in between.

  • prøve (å)
    • infinitive
      • Han prøver å beskytte … = He is trying to protect …

Common verbs that normally take å before another verb:

  • prøve å (try to)
  • begynne å (begin to)
  • like å (like to)
  • planlegge å (plan to)
  • glemme å (forget to)

By contrast, the modal verbs do not take å:

  • kan komme (can come)
  • må jobbe (must work)
  • vil gå (wants to go / will go)
  • skal reise (is going to travel)

So:

  • Han kan beskytte fritiden sin. (correct, no å)
  • Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin. (correct, needs å)
Why is it fritiden sin instead of hans fritid?

Norwegian makes a strong distinction between reflexive and non‑reflexive possession.

  • sin / si / sitt / sine is reflexive: it refers back to the subject of the clause.
  • hans / hennes / deres is non‑reflexive: it refers to someone else (not the subject), or you want to stress whose it is.

In the sentence, Han is the subject, and it is his own free time:

  • Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin …
    = He tries to protect his (own) free time.

If you said:

  • Han prøver å beskytte fritiden hans …

this would normally be understood as:

  • He tries to protect his (another man’s) free time.

So fritiden sin must be used here, because the owner (he) is also the subject of the clause.

Why is it fritiden sin (definite) and not just fritid?

Norwegian often uses the definite form for things that are understood as a specific, known quantity, especially with possessions.

  • fritid = free time, in a general sense
  • fritiden = the free time (a particular person’s or situation’s free time)

Because we are talking about his own, personal free time as a concrete thing he is trying to protect, the definite form fritiden is natural:

  • fritiden sin = his (own) free time

Compare:

  • Jeg liker fritid. = I like having free time (in general).
  • Jeg vil ha fritiden min for meg selv. = I want to have my free time to myself. (a specific, personal thing)
What exactly does beskytte mean here? Could you say passe på fritiden sin instead?

Beskytte means to protect, in the sense of defending something from being harmed, taken, or invaded.

  • beskytte fritiden sin = protect his free time (from being used up by others, e.g. by the organization)

You can use other verbs with slightly different nuances:

  • passe på fritiden sin
    Literally “look after / take care of his free time”. It sounds a bit more like managing and being careful about how he uses it.

  • verne om fritiden sin
    A bit more formal/poetic: “to cherish and protect his free time”.

All are possible, but beskytte fritiden sin is a straightforward way of saying he is actively defending his free time against demands on it.

Why is it organisasjonen and not just en organisasjon?

Again, this is the definite form, but now for a noun in -en:

  • en organisasjon = an organization
  • organisasjonen = the organization

Using organisasjonen shows that this is a specific, known organization – presumably one that both speaker and listener already know about (for example, the organization he is a volunteer in).

If you said:

  • … men en organisasjon trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden.

it would mean but an organization often needs volunteer help in the evening, in a more general, impersonal way.

Why is the word order organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp, and not organisasjonen ofte trenger frivillig hjelp?

The adverb ofte (often) usually goes after the finite verb in main clauses.

Basic word order in a simple main clause is:

  1. Subject
  2. Verb (finite)
  3. Mid‑position adverb (like ofte, ikke)
  4. Rest (objects, etc.)

So:

  • Organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp.
    Subject (organisasjonen) – verb (trenger) – adverb (ofte) – object (frivillig hjelp)

Organisasjonen ofte trenger frivillig hjelp is not normal main‑clause word order. That kind of order can show up in special constructions (like relative clauses), but not as a standalone sentence.

Why is it frivillig hjelp and not frivillige?

Frivillig can function in two ways:

  1. As an adjective: frivillig hjelp

    • frivillig = voluntary
    • hjelp = help
      So frivillig hjelp = voluntary help.

  2. As a noun (a volunteer): en frivillig / frivillige

    • En frivillig = a volunteer (person)
    • frivillige = the volunteer / volunteers (depending on context)

In your sentence, we are talking about help, not directly about the people:

  • … trenger ofte frivillig hjelp …
    = needs voluntary help (help that is not paid / is done as a volunteer).

If you want to emphasize the people, you might say:

  • … trenger ofte frivillige på kvelden.
    = (it) often needs volunteers in the evening.
What does på kvelden mean here, and how is it different from om kvelden or i kveld?

All three are related to “evening”, but they work differently:

  • på kvelden
    Literally “on the evening”, but in practice usually in the evening.
    Can be used for:

    • a specific evening (from context), or
    • a more habitual/generic sense, depending on context.

  • om kvelden
    Typically used for regular / habitual actions:

    • Jeg jobber ofte om kvelden. = I often work in the evenings (as a habit).

  • i kveld
    Means this evening / tonight (very specific, this upcoming evening).

In your sentence:

  • … trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden.

is most naturally understood as:

  • The organization often needs voluntary help in the evening (in general).

You could also say:

  • … trenger ofte frivillig hjelp om kvelden.

with a slightly stronger sense of general habit. The difference between på kvelden and om kvelden is often quite small in practice.

Why is there a comma before men?

In Norwegian, men is a coordinating conjunction meaning but, and it normally takes a comma before it, much like in careful written English.

Structure:

  • Clause 1 , men Clause 2

Your example:

  • Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin, men organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden.

Two independent clauses:

  1. Han prøver å beskytte fritiden sin
  2. (men) organisasjonen trenger ofte frivillig hjelp på kvelden

They are joined with men, so a comma is standard written Norwegian here.

How do you pronounce fritiden, organisasjonen, and kvelden?

Approximate pronunciations (based on standard Eastern Norwegian, written with English-like hints):

  • fritiden
    IPA: [ˈfɾiːtiːdən]
    Roughly: FREE‑tee‑den

    • fri like English free
    • ti like tee
    • final -den is weak; the d is light

  • organisasjonen
    IPA: [ʊɾɡɑnɪsɑˈʂuːnən] (varies by dialect)
    Roughly: or-ga-ni-sa-SHOON-en

    • stress near the end: -sjo- / -sjon- part
    • the sj sound is like English sh in shoe

  • kvelden
    IPA: [ˈkʋeɖən] or [ˈkʋɛlən] (dialect variation)
    Roughly: KVEL-len

    • kv like kv in kvikk lunsj, often a bit like kv or compressed kw
    • the d is often very soft or almost not heard in many dialects

Exact pronunciation will vary by region, but these are fairly standard approximations.