Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen.

The breath becomes calmer after the exercise.

Breakdown of Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen.

• bli: to become
• etter: after
• øvelsen: the exercise
• roligere: calmer
• pusten: the breath

Questions & Answers about Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen.

What does pusten mean, and why does it end in -en?

Pust is a noun meaning breath or breathing.

Norwegian often adds -en to a masculine noun to make it definite singular (the X):

• en pust = a breath
• pusten = the breath / the breathing

So Pusten blir roligere literally means “The breath/breathing becomes calmer.”
In natural English, we usually say “The breathing becomes calmer” or “Your breathing calms down.”

Does pusten here mean “the breath” (one single breath) or “breathing” in general?

In this sentence, pusten is best understood as “breathing” in general, not a single inhale or exhale.

So:

• Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen.
  = The breathing becomes calmer after the exercise.
  (or: Your breathing slows/calms down after the exercise.)

If you wanted to emphasize one single breath, you’d normally phrase the sentence differently, for example:

• Etter øvelsen tar jeg en dyp pust. – After the exercise I take a deep breath.

Why is it blir and not er? What’s the difference?

Blir (from bli) usually means “becomes” or “gets”, and it highlights a change.

• Pusten er rolig. – The breathing is calm. (state)
• Pusten blir roligere. – The breathing becomes / gets calmer. (change)

In Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen, the point is that after the exercise, the breathing changes from less calm to more calm, so blir is the natural choice.

Can blir also mean “will be”? Could the sentence be about the future?

Yes. Norwegian present tense can cover present, general truths, and future depending on context.

So Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen can be understood as:

• A general truth: “(One’s) breathing becomes calmer after the exercise.”
• Or in the right context, something like: “(Your) breathing will become calmer after the exercise.”

If you really want to make the future explicit, you can say:

• Pusten vil bli roligere etter øvelsen. – The breathing will become calmer after the exercise.

What exactly is roligere? How is it formed?

Roligere is the comparative form of the adjective rolig (calm).

Basic pattern:

• rolig – calm
• roligere – calmer / more calm
• roligst – calmest / most calm

So Pusten blir roligere = The breathing becomes calmer.

Why doesn’t roligere change for gender or number here?

In Norwegian, when an adjective is used after the verb er / blir / virker / ser ut, it is in the predicative form, and in the comparative that form is the same for all genders and numbers.

• Bilen er rolig. – The car is calm/quiet.
• Bilene er rolige. – The cars are calm.
• Bilen er roligere. – The car is calmer.
• Bilene er roligere. – The cars are calmer.

So you always use roligere as comparative, no matter the noun’s gender or whether it is singular or plural.

Why is it etter øvelsen and not etter øvelse or etter en øvelse?

All three are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

• etter øvelsen – after the exercise (a specific, known exercise)
• etter en øvelse – after an exercise (after some/one exercise, not specified)
• etter øvelse – roughly “after exercise” in general, more like a general activity (less common in this exact phrasing, but understandable)

In your sentence, etter øvelsen suggests a particular exercise both speaker and listener know (for example, one specific breathing exercise or workout).

What are the basic forms and gender of øvelse?

Øvelse is normally treated as a masculine noun (though it can also be feminine in some dialects). The common masculine forms are:

• en øvelse – an exercise
• øvelsen – the exercise
• øvelser – exercises
• øvelsene – the exercises

So in the sentence, øvelsen = the exercise.

Can I move etter øvelsen to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Both of these are correct:

• Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen.
• Etter øvelsen blir pusten roligere.

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule (the finite verb is in second position):

• When the subject comes first: [Pusten] [blir] [roligere etter øvelsen].
• When an adverbial (like etter øvelsen) comes first:
  [Etter øvelsen] [blir] [pusten roligere].
  (Verb blir still in second position.)

There is no “my” in the sentence. Does pusten mean “my breathing” here?

Often, yes, in context.

Norwegian frequently uses the definite form of body-related nouns without a possessive where English uses my / your / his / her:

• Jeg pusser tennene. – I brush my teeth.
• Hun har vondt i hodet. – She has a headache / her head hurts.
• Pusten blir roligere etter øvelsen. – (My/your/their) breathing becomes calmer after the exercise.

If you want to make it explicitly personal, you can say:

• Pusten min blir roligere etter øvelsen. – My breathing becomes calmer after the exercise.

Is there a difference between Pusten blir roligere and Pusten roer seg?

They are close in meaning but not identical in nuance:

• Pusten blir roligere.
  – The breathing becomes calmer.
  (More neutral, descriptive of a change in state.)

• Pusten roer seg.
  – The breathing calms down.
  (Slightly more dynamic/“in-progress” feeling, focusing on the action of calming down.)

Both can usually be translated as “The breathing calms down” in English, and both are natural in this context.

How would I say “My breathing becomes calmer after the exercise” more explicitly in Norwegian?

A natural explicit version is:

• Pusten min blir roligere etter øvelsen.

You could also say:

• Jeg puster roligere etter øvelsen. – I breathe more calmly after the exercise.
  (Here the subject is I, not the breathing.)