Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Etter frokost blåser vi ut de siste stearinlysene og pakker ut resten av maten. - After breakfast we blow out the last candles and unpack the rest of the food.

Etter frokost blåser vi ut de siste stearinlysene og pakker ut resten av maten.

After breakfast we blow out the last candles and unpack the rest of the food.

Breakdown of Etter frokost blåser vi ut de siste stearinlysene og pakker ut resten av maten.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Norwegian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Norwegian now

Questions & Answers about Etter frokost blåser vi ut de siste stearinlysene og pakker ut resten av maten.

Why is there no article before frokost in Etter frokost? In English we’d usually say after breakfast or after the breakfast.

In Norwegian, meal names are often used without an article when you talk about them in a general, habitual, or “today’s” sense.

Etter frokost = After (the) breakfast / After breakfast
Jeg spiser frokost klokka åtte. = I eat breakfast at eight.

You can say etter en frokost, but then it means after a (particular) breakfast, often with a descriptive tone:

Etter en lang frokost dro vi hjem.
After a long breakfast we went home.

So etter frokost is the normal, neutral way to say after breakfast in everyday language.

Why is the verb blåser before vi? Why not Etter frokost vi blåser ut…?

Norwegian has the V2 word order rule: the finite verb must be in second position in main clauses.

The clause is:

Etter frokost blåser vi ut de siste stearinlysene …

Breakdown:

Etter frokost – adverbial (time expression) in first position
blåser – the finite verb in second position
vi – the subject comes after the verb

If you start the sentence with the subject instead, you get “normal” English-like order:

Vi blåser ut de siste stearinlysene etter frokost.

Both are correct; the rule is just that the verb must be second, not that the subject must be first.

Is blåser ut like a phrasal verb? What’s the role of ut here?

Yes, å blåse ut works somewhat like an English phrasal verb:

å blåse = to blow
ut = out
å blåse ut lysene = to blow out the candles

Important points:

blåse ut noe and blåse noe ut are both possible:
- Vi blåser ut lysene.
- Vi blåser lysene ut.
With a pronoun, you usually put the pronoun in the middle:
- Vi blåser dem ut. (We blow them out.)
  Not: Vi blåser ut dem. (very marked/odd)

ut here is a particle, not a separate full adverb of direction; it’s tightly bound to the verb and focuses on the result (extinguishing), similar to English “blow out”.

Could you also say slukker lysene instead of blåser ut lysene? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are possible, but they’re used slightly differently:

å blåse ut lysene – literally to blow out the candles, focusing on the method (blowing).
å slukke lysene – to extinguish/turn off the lights/candles, focusing on the result (no more light), without specifying how.

So:

If you specifically blow them out with your mouth:
- Vi blåser ut stearinlysene.
If you just mean “extinguish them” (by any method):
- Vi slukker stearinlysene.

In many everyday contexts, either would be understood, but blåse ut is more concrete and visual for candles.

What exactly does de siste stearinlysene mean, and how is it structured grammatically?

de siste stearinlysene means “the last candles” or “the remaining candles”.

Structure:

de – definite plural article “the” (plural)
siste – adjective “last” (has the same form in singular/plural, definite/indefinite)
stearinlysene – definite plural of stearinlys (candle), literally “the candles”

So literally it’s “the last the-candles” in Norwegian structure, but in English we just say “the last candles”.

Usage nuance:

de siste stearinlysene – the final ones in a series, or the ones that are left.
de andre stearinlysene – the other candles (not necessarily the last).

Here it clearly means they are extinguishing the ones that are still burning, i.e. the remaining/last candles.

How does the noun stearinlys change form? Why stearinlysene and not something else?

stearinlys (candle) is a neuter noun. Its main forms:

Singular indefinite: et stearinlys – a candle
Singular definite: stearinlyset – the candle
Plural indefinite: stearinlys – candles
Plural definite: stearinlysene – the candles

Notice:

Indefinite singular and indefinite plural are formally the same (stearinlys).
You know which is meant from context and article:
- et stearinlys (singular) vs stearinlys by itself (usually plural in context).
The ending -et marks singular definite.
The ending -ene marks plural definite.

So stearinlysene clearly tells you it’s plural and definite: the candles.

Why is it pakker ut here? Is pakke ut also a kind of phrasal verb? How does its word order work?

Yes, å pakke ut behaves like a verb + particle combination, similar to English “unpack” / “pack out”.

å pakke = to pack
ut = out
å pakke ut noe = to unpack something

Word order:

With a noun object, both are fine:
- Vi pakker ut resten av maten.
- Vi pakker resten av maten ut.
With a pronoun object, you normally put the pronoun between the verb and ut:
- Vi pakker den ut. (We unpack it.)
  Not: Vi pakker ut den. (sounds wrong/unnatural)

So pakker ut here is the natural way to say unpack in this context.

What does resten av maten literally mean, and why use av here?

resten av maten literally means “the rest of the food”.

Breakdown:

resten – the rest (definite form of rest = rest/remnant)
av – of (partitive relationship)
maten – the food (definite form of mat)

Norwegian often expresses “the rest of X” as:

resten av X – the rest of X
- resten av dagen – the rest of the day
- resten av pengene – the rest of the money

You don’t say something like “den resten maten” (a direct calque of the rest food). You need:

the noun resten
plus a partitive av-phrase: av maten.

Why is the present tense (blåser, pakker) used? In English I might say we will blow out or we blew out.

Norwegian present tense is used in several ways:

Present time (right now / habitual):
- Vi blåser ut lysene hver kveld.
  We blow out the candles every evening.
Narrative / “live” description of events:
Very common in storytelling, instructions, and descriptions:
- Etter frokost blåser vi ut de siste stearinlysene og pakker ut resten av maten.
  This can be understood as you telling a story or describing a routine:
  After breakfast, we (then) blow out the last candles and unpack the rest…
Future with context:
Present can also refer to the future if the context makes it clear:
- I morgen etter frokost blåser vi ut lysene.
  Tomorrow after breakfast we’ll blow out the candles.

So present tense here is natural; Norwegian doesn’t need an explicit “will” the way English often does.

Could you say Etter at vi har spist frokost instead of Etter frokost? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct, but they have different structures and a slight nuance difference.

Etter frokost blåser vi ut …
- etter + noun
- Compact, neutral, very common: After breakfast we blow out…
Etter at vi har spist frokost, blåser vi ut …
- etter at + clause
- Literally: After that we have eaten breakfast, we blow out…
- Emphasizes the action of eating as a completed event.

In most everyday situations, etter frokost is shorter and sounds more natural unless you specifically want to focus on the act (“after we have eaten breakfast”) rather than the time period (“after breakfast”).