Breakdown of Handleposen henger ved siden av døren, så jeg glemmer den ikke når jeg går ut.
Questions & Answers about Handleposen henger ved siden av døren, så jeg glemmer den ikke når jeg går ut.
Handleposen means the shopping bag.
Breakdown:
- handle = to shop / shopping
- pose = bag
- handlepose = shopping bag
- handleposen = the shopping bag
Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of in front:
- en handlepose = a shopping bag
- handleposen = the shopping bag
So the -en is the definite ending for most masculine nouns in Bokmål.
Henger = hangs / is hanging.
Norwegian often uses specific “position verbs” instead of just er (is):
- står = stands / is standing (for objects standing upright)
- ligger = lies / is lying (for things lying down)
- sitter = sits / is sitting
- henger = hangs / is hanging
So:
- Handleposen henger ved siden av døren literally: The shopping bag hangs next to the door.
Using er here (Handleposen er ved siden av døren) would sound odd; you normally describe how it is placed, not just that it “is” there.
Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule:
- The finite verb (here henger) normally comes in second position.
- The first position is usually the subject (here Handleposen).
So:
- Handleposen (subject) henger (verb) …
If you start with something else than the subject, the verb still needs to be second. For example:
- Ved siden av døren henger handleposen.
(Here, ved siden av døren is first, so henger must come second.)
Henger handleposen ved siden av døren would be a yes/no question:
- “Does the shopping bag hang next to the door?”
Ved siden av is a fixed three‑word expression meaning next to / beside.
Breakdown:
- ved = by, at
- side = side
- ved siden av = literally “by the side of”
It works as a preposition group and is followed by a noun (often in the definite form):
- ved siden av døren = next to the door
- ved siden av bilen = next to the car
You normally keep all three words together; you don’t drop av in standard Bokmål in this meaning.
Dør = door
Døren = the door
Again, Norwegian usually marks definiteness with an ending:
- en dør = a door
- døren (or døra, see below) = the door
So ved siden av døren = next to the door.
In spoken Norwegian and informal Bokmål, many people say/write døra instead of døren:
- døren = more “bookish” / standard Bokmål
- døra = more colloquial, but also accepted in Bokmål
Both are correct forms of the definite singular.
In this sentence, så connects two clauses and means roughly so / therefore:
- Handleposen henger ved siden av døren, så jeg glemmer den ikke …
= The shopping bag hangs next to the door, so I don’t forget it …
So the structure is:
- Clause 1: Handleposen henger ved siden av døren
- Connector: så (so, therefore)
- Clause 2: jeg glemmer den ikke når jeg går ut
If you wanted to emphasize purpose (“in order that I don’t forget it”), you could also use slik at:
- … henger ved siden av døren, slik at jeg ikke glemmer den.
Both are possible, but they sound a bit different.
The most natural here is:
- jeg glemmer den ikke = I don’t forget it
Typical pattern with a pronoun object:
- subject – verb – object pronoun – ikke
- jeg (subject) glemmer (verb) den (object) ikke (negation)
If you say:
- jeg glemmer ikke den,
the stress naturally falls more on den, like: - “I don’t forget that one (as opposed to some other one).”
So:
- jeg glemmer den ikke = neutral “I don’t forget it”
- jeg glemmer ikke den = “It’s not that one I forget” / a bit contrastive
In Norwegian, the pronoun must match the gender of the noun it refers to.
- en handlepose (masculine noun)
- Definite: handleposen
- Pronoun: den
So:
- Handleposen henger ved siden av døren, så jeg glemmer den ikke …
If the noun were neuter, you would use det:
- et glass (a glass) → glasset → jeg glemmer det ikke
Norwegian often uses present tense for future events when the context makes the future meaning clear.
Here:
- når jeg går ut = when I go out (in the future, in general)
- jeg glemmer den ikke = I don’t forget it (then)
So even though in English you might say:
- “so I won’t forget it”
Norwegian can simply use present:
- så jeg glemmer den ikke
= literally “so I don’t forget it” (understood as: so I won’t forget it).
You can use a future form like kommer til å glemme, but here it would be less natural:
- … så jeg ikke kommer til å glemme den sounds a bit heavier and less like an everyday habit statement.
Når, da, and hvis all connect clauses, but they’re used differently:
- når = when
- for present, future, or repeated actions
- Når jeg går ut, tar jeg alltid med meg nøklene.
- da = when
- for one specific past event
- Da jeg gikk ut i går, regnet det.
- hvis = if
- for conditions
- Hvis jeg går ut, tar jeg med meg paraply.
In the sentence:
- … så jeg glemmer den ikke når jeg går ut.
This is about a general/repeated situation in the present/future, so når is correct.
Gå = to walk / to go (on foot)
Ut = out (direction, movement)
Together:
- går ut = goes out / goes outside (movement from inside to outside)
Using only går would be too vague:
- når jeg går = when I walk / when I go (somewhere)
Utenfor means “outside” as a location:
- utenfor døren = outside the door
If you say går utenfor, it can be understood, but går ut is more natural for the idea “go out (of the house / the room)” in everyday speech.
So:
- jeg går ut = I go outside (from the inside)
- jeg er utenfor = I am outside
Yes, this is also correct:
- … så jeg ikke glemmer den når jeg går ut.
Here the negation ikke comes right after the subject:
- jeg (subject) ikke (negation) glemmer (verb) den (object)
Both versions are grammatical:
- så jeg glemmer den ikke når jeg går ut
- så jeg ikke glemmer den når jeg går ut
The meaning is practically the same. Version 2 can feel slightly more like “so that I don’t forget it” as a purpose, but in normal speech they are interchangeable in this context.