Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi ut maten først.

When we arrive at the cabin, we unpack the food first.

Breakdown of Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi ut maten først.

• maten: the food
• vi: we
• til: to
• når: when
• først: first
• hytten: the cabin
• komme fram: to arrive
• pakke ut: to unpack

Questions & Answers about Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi ut maten først.

Why is it når here and not da?

Norwegian has two main words that can translate as when:

• når – used for:
  • future time: Når vi kommer fram … = When we arrive …
  • general / repeated events: Når jeg er trøtt, legger jeg meg tidlig.
• da – used for:
  • a single event in the past:
    Da vi kom fram til hytta, pakket vi ut maten først.
    = When we arrived at the cabin, we unpacked the food first.

Your sentence talks about a future or repeated situation (what you do whenever you arrive at the cabin), so når is correct.

Why is the word order pakker vi and not vi pakker after the comma?

The first part, Når vi kommer fram til hytta, is a subordinate clause. When a subordinate clause comes first in the sentence, the following main clause must still follow the V2 rule (the finite verb is in second position).

Basic main-clause order:
Vi pakker ut maten først.
(subject – verb – rest)

If you move something in front, that thing takes position 1, and the verb must come in position 2:

1. Når vi kommer fram til hytta,
2. pakker (verb)
3. vi (subject)
4. ut maten først (rest)

So after a fronted element (here: the whole Når… clause), you need verb + subject → pakker vi, not vi pakker.

Why do we say kommer fram til instead of just kommer til?

• komme = to come
• komme fram (frem) = to arrive / to reach (a place)

Komme fram til is a set expression meaning roughly to arrive at:

• Når vi kommer fram til hytta … = When we arrive at the cabin …

If you said only kommer til hytta, it could be understood, but it sounds incomplete or a bit unusual in this context. Norwegians normally say:

• komme fram til huset/stasjonen/hotellet
• or use ankomme in a very formal style: ankomme stasjonen

Fram vs frem: both are correct Bokmål; fram is more common in everyday language.

Why is it til hytta and not på hytta or i hytta?

Norwegian often uses different prepositions for movement vs location:

• Movement towards a place: usually til

  • Vi drar til hytta. = We go to the cabin.
  • Når vi kommer fram til hytta … = When we arrive at the cabin …

• Location / being at the place:

  • Vi er på hytta. = We are at the cabin.
  • Vi sitter i hytta. = We are sitting in the cabin.

So:

• til hytta → motion towards the cabin,
• på / i hytta → being at/in the cabin.

Why is it hytta and not hytte or hytten?

The base noun is en hytte = a cabin.

Norwegian has a definite form for the:

• hytta / hytten = the cabin

Two points:

1. Definite form
   The context is a specific, known cabin (probably a family cabin), so Norwegian uses the definite form: hytta = the cabin.

2. -a vs -en
   In Bokmål, many feminine nouns have two definite forms:

   • hytta (feminine definite) – very common in speech and informal writing
   • hytten (masculine definite) – more traditional / formal

Most people say and write hytta.

What is the function of ut in pakker vi ut maten? Isn’t pakke already to pack?

• pakke = to pack
• pakke ut = to unpack

The particle ut literally means out. Together with pakke, it forms a particle verb that changes the meaning:

• Vi pakker maten. = We pack the food (put it into bags/boxes).
• Vi pakker ut maten. = We unpack the food (take it out of bags/boxes).

So ut is necessary here to get the meaning unpack.

Why is it pakker vi ut maten and not pakker vi maten ut?

The pattern pakke ut (verb + particle) can behave a bit like an English phrasal verb. With a simple noun object, both word orders are usually possible:

• Vi pakker ut maten.
• Vi pakker maten ut.

In practice, verb + particle + object is more common and sounds more neutral in this kind of sentence:

• Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi ut maten først.
  sounds more natural than
  Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi maten ut først.

The verb + particle + object order is especially preferred with:

• longer objects,
• pronouns in many dialects (pakker den ut, not pakker ut den in a lot of spoken Norwegian).

So your sentence uses a very typical, natural word order.

Why is it maten and not just mat?

• mat = food (in general, mass noun)
• maten = the food

English often leaves food without the, even when it refers to specific food you both know about:

• We unpack the food / We unpack the groceries
  (often just said as we unpack the food or even we unpack food)

Norwegian marks that specificity with the definite form:

• maten = the food (we brought / for this trip)

In this context, it’s not food in general, but the particular food you brought to the cabin, so maten is natural.

Why is først at the end? Could I say Først pakker vi ut maten instead?

Both are correct, but the nuance and focus change slightly.

Your sentence:

• … pakker vi ut maten først.
  Neutral description of the order of actions: among all the things we do, unpacking the food comes first.

Alternative:

• Først pakker vi ut maten, (og så …)
  Here først is fronted and gets extra emphasis, like:
  • First, we unpack the food, (and then we do something else).

So:

• … maten først = normal information about sequence, først is an adverb placed at the end.
• Først pakker vi ut maten = stylistic choice, emphasizing the idea of first of all.

Both versions are grammatically fine.

Why is the present tense (kommer, pakker) used, even though this is about the future?

Norwegian often uses the simple present to talk about future events, especially:

• plans / scheduled events,
• sequences of actions that will happen.

So:

• Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi ut maten først.
  literally: When we come to the cabin, we unpack the food first,
  but in context it means When we arrive … we will unpack the food first.

You could say:

• Når vi kommer fram til hytta, skal vi pakke ut maten først.

This adds a bit more intention/will, but it’s not necessary. The present is very natural here.

Can I move the når-clause to the end and say: Vi pakker ut maten først når vi kommer fram til hytta?

Yes, that is correct Norwegian, and it’s quite natural.

Two variants:

1. Når vi kommer fram til hytta, pakker vi ut maten først.
   Focuses first on the situation/time (when we arrive) and then tells what you do.

2. Vi pakker ut maten først når vi kommer fram til hytta.
   Starts with what you do (we unpack the food first) and then specifies when exactly that happens.

Grammatically both are fine; the difference is mainly in emphasis and flow.