Breakdown of Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
Questions & Answers about Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
Buss means a bus (indefinite), while bussen means the bus (definite).
Norwegian usually marks definiteness with an ending on the noun:
- en buss → bussen (a bus → the bus)
- en stasjon → stasjonen (a station → the station)
So Bussen kommer fram … = The bus arrives …, referring to a specific, known bus (for example, the bus you are waiting for), not just any bus.
The capital B is only because it starts the sentence; otherwise it would be bussen.
In Norwegian, the present tense is very often used for the near or certain future, especially with a time expression:
- Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
= The bus will arrive at the station late this evening.
This is normal and sounds natural. You only need a future auxiliary (like skal) when you want to express intention, plan, or a less certain future:
- Bussen skal komme fram klokka ti. – The bus is supposed to arrive at ten.
- Det vil nok komme flere busser. – More buses will probably come.
But in your sentence, simple present kommer is the most natural choice.
Komme fram (or komme frem) is a phrasal verb meaning to arrive / to reach (a destination).
- komme = to come
- komme fram = to get there, to arrive, to reach the end of the journey
Nuances:
Bussen kommer til stasjonen sent i kveld.
Grammatically OK and understandable. Often interpreted as “the bus comes to the station / goes to the station” (the route) — context usually makes it clear that it’s about arrival.Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
Emphasizes that the bus reaches / arrives at the station after traveling.
You will also see:
- Bussen ankommer stasjonen sent i kveld.
This uses ankommer (“arrives”) and sounds more formal, like in timetables or announcements.
In everyday speech, komme fram is very common when you mean “arrive” somewhere.
The preposition changes the idea:
til stasjonen = to the station (movement towards a destination)
Used with verbs of movement: komme til, gå til, kjøre til, etc.på stasjonen = at the station (location, being there)
Used to talk about where something/someone is or happens:- Jeg venter på stasjonen. – I am waiting at the station.
- Det er en kiosk på stasjonen. – There is a kiosk at the station.
So in your sentence, the bus is moving to the station: til stasjonen is the correct choice.
Same reason as with bussen: this is the definite form.
- en stasjon – a station
- stasjonen – the station
You use the definite form when you and the listener both know which station is meant (for example, the main station in that town, or one already mentioned in the conversation).
So:
- Bussen kommer fram til en stasjon. – The bus arrives at a station. (some station)
- Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen. – The bus arrives at the station. (a specific, known one)
Literally:
- sent = late
- i kveld = this evening / tonight (before sleeping time / before night)
So sent i kveld is “late in the evening”, often translated as late tonight or late this evening in English.
It usually refers to a time later in the evening, but before you would say it is night (before i natt).
No, i kveld sent is not natural Norwegian.
The normal order is:
- sent i kveld (late this evening)
- tidlig i morgen (early tomorrow)
- seint i natt / sent i natt (late tonight / late in the night)
The pattern is: adverb of time or manner first, then the specific time expression:
- sent i kveld, not i kveld sent
- tidlig i dag, not i dag tidlig (though i dag tidlig can occur in speech, tidlig i dag is more standard)
For your sentence, always sent i kveld.
Both relate to tonight, but they cover different parts of the late day:
i kveld = this evening / tonight (evening part)
Typically from late afternoon/early evening until around bedtime (for many people, maybe up to 22–23:00).i natt = tonight (night part) or last night, depending on context:
- i natt (future) – later during the coming night
- i natt (past) – during the previous night
Examples:
- Vi sees i kveld. – See you this evening/tonight.
- Det blir kaldt i natt. – It will be cold tonight (during the night).
- Jeg sov dårlig i natt. – I slept badly last night.
Your sentence uses i kveld because the bus arrives late in the evening, not in the middle of the night.
In Bokmål, both forms are in use:
- sen / sent
- sein / seint
They mean the same (late).
Sen / sent is the more neutral standard; sein / seint is more typical of western dialects and closer to Nynorsk.
So you might also see:
- Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen seint i kveld.
That is also acceptable Norwegian, but sent i kveld is the most standard Bokmål variant.
Yes, both are correct Bokmål spellings:
- fram – more common in everyday modern Bokmål and in many dialects
- frem – slightly more traditional/older-looking, still very common, especially in writing
They mean the same here and are interchangeable:
- Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen …
- Bussen kommer frem til stasjonen …
Both are fine. Just try to be consistent in your own writing.
Yes, it’s a difference between movement and resulting state:
komme fram – the process of arriving / reaching a place
- Bussen kommer fram klokka ti. – The bus arrives at ten.
være framme – being there, having already arrived
- Bussen er framme. – The bus has arrived / is there now.
- Når er du framme? – When will you be there?
So your sentence describes the arrival event (the bus comes / gets there), not the state of already having arrived.
Some changes are possible, some are awkward.
Norwegian has a verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses: the finite verb (here kommer) must be in second position, no matter what comes first.
Your original sentence:
- Bussen (1) kommer (2) fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
If you put the time first:
- I kveld (1) kommer (2) bussen fram til stasjonen sent.
This is grammatically correct, but the adverb sent at the end sounds a bit odd; speakers usually keep sent i kveld together.
Better alternatives:
- I kveld kommer bussen fram til stasjonen sent. (ok, but a bit marked)
- I kveld kommer bussen sent fram til stasjonen. (also possible, but the focus shifts slightly)
Most natural is to keep sent i kveld together and last:
- Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
- I kveld kommer bussen fram til stasjonen sent. (if you want to front i kveld, but still many speakers prefer the original order)
For a learner, the safest and most natural version is the original.
Yes, that is correct:
- Bussen ankommer stasjonen sent i kveld.
Ankomme = to arrive (more formal, often used for public transport, official information, announcements, written schedules).
Nuance:
Bussen kommer fram til stasjonen sent i kveld.
– Everyday neutral, natural in speech and writing.Bussen ankommer stasjonen sent i kveld.
– More formal or “timetable style”, something you might see on an information board or in a written notice.
Both are grammatical; the choice is about style, not correctness.