Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt, og innlogging blir vanskelig.

Sometimes she forgets her username, and logging in becomes difficult.

Breakdown of Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt, og innlogging blir vanskelig.

• hun: she
• og: and
• bli: to become
• noen ganger: sometimes
• vanskelig: difficult
• glemme: to forget
• sitt: her
• brukernavnet: the username
• innloggingen: the login

Questions & Answers about Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt, og innlogging blir vanskelig.

What does Noen ganger mean exactly, and is it the same as av og til?

Noen ganger literally means some times and is usually translated as sometimes or at times.

It is very close in meaning to av og til, which also means now and then / from time to time / occasionally.

• Noen ganger – slightly more neutral, maybe a bit more like sometimes.
• Av og til – often translated now and then / every once in a while.

In this sentence you could also say:

• Av og til glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt, og innlogging blir vanskelig.

The meaning would be practically the same.

Why is the word order Noen ganger glemmer hun... and not Hun glemmer noen ganger...?

Both word orders are correct and natural in Norwegian:

• Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt...
• Hun glemmer noen ganger brukernavnet sitt...

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here: glemmer) must come in second position in the sentence.

1. Noen ganger (adverbial) is in first position → glemmer must come second → the subject hun comes after the verb:

   • Noen ganger (1) glemmer (2) hun (3) ...

2. If you start with the subject hun, then the verb is still second:

   • Hun (1) glemmer (2) noen ganger (3) ...

So the sentence is just using a common variation where an adverbial (here Noen ganger) is placed at the beginning for emphasis or style.

What is sitt in brukernavnet sitt, and why not brukernavnet hennes?

Sitt is the reflexive possessive pronoun meaning her own / his own / its own / their own for neuter singular nouns.

• Brukernavn (username) is a neuter noun.
• Its indefinite form: et brukernavn
• Its definite form: brukernavnet

So we use the neuter reflexive form:

• brukernavnet sitt = her own username

In Norwegian:

• hun glemmer brukernavnet sitt
  = she forgets her own username

• hun glemmer brukernavnet hennes
  = she forgets her username (belonging to another woman, not herself)

So sitt shows that the username belongs to the subject of the sentence (hun), not to someone else.

How do the different forms of the reflexive possessive work (sin / si / sitt / sine) and why is it sitt here?

The reflexive possessive agrees with the gender and number of the noun possessed, not with the person:

• sin – with masculine singular nouns
  
  • mannen sin (her/his own man/husband)
• si – with feminine singular nouns
  
  • døtra si (her/his own daughter)
• sitt – with neuter singular nouns
  
  • huset sitt (her/his own house)
• sine – with plural nouns (all genders)
  
  • barna sine (her/his own children)

In the sentence:

• brukernavn is neuter → use sitt
• brukernavnet sitt = her own username

What exactly does innlogging mean, and is it a verb or a noun?

Innlogging is a noun, not a verb.

It comes from the verb å logge inn (to log in / to sign in):

• å logge inn → innlogging (the act/process of logging in)

So innlogging means login / logging in in the sense of the login process.

In the sentence:

• innlogging blir vanskelig
  ≈ logging in becomes difficult
  ≈ the login process becomes difficult

Why does the sentence use innlogging blir vanskelig and not something with a verb like å logge inn blir vanskelig?

You could say either:

• Innlogging blir vanskelig.
• Å logge inn blir vanskelig.

Both are grammatically correct.

The difference:

• Innlogging is a noun:
  
  • Gives a slightly more formal / technical feel, like talking about the login as a process or feature.
• Å logge inn is a verb infinitive used as a noun-like phrase:
  
  • Sounds a bit more everyday / action-focused: the act of logging in is difficult.

In many real-life contexts (websites, IT support, etc.), innlogging as a noun is very common.

Why is it blir vanskelig and not er vanskelig?

• blir = becomes / gets
• er = is

Using blir suggests a change of state:

• innlogging blir vanskelig
  = logging in becomes difficult (when she forgets her username)

If you said:

• innlogging er vanskelig
  = logging in is difficult (it is generally hard, as a permanent characteristic)

In this sentence, the difficulty comes as a result of her forgetting the username, so blir (becomes) is the natural choice.

Why is there no article before innlogging? Why not innloggingen blir vanskelig?

Norwegian can drop the article with general activities or processes, similar to English expressions like “Login is difficult”.

• Innlogging blir vanskelig.
  = Login / logging in becomes difficult (in general, in that situation)

If you use the definite form:

• Innloggingen blir vanskelig.
  This sounds more like the login (a particular login instance) becomes difficult. It can be used, but it feels more specific, as if you’re referring to a particular login attempt or a particular system’s login feature.

In a general statement about what happens whenever she forgets her username, the indefinite innlogging is more natural.

Why is there a comma before og in ..., og innlogging blir vanskelig?

Norwegian comma rules require a comma before og when it connects two independent main clauses (each with its own subject and verb):

1. Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt

   • Subject: hun
   • Verb: glemmer

2. innlogging blir vanskelig

   • Subject: innlogging
   • Verb: blir

Since both parts could stand as complete sentences, you put a comma before og:

• Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt, og innlogging blir vanskelig.

If og connected just two verbs with the same subject, you would not use a comma, for example:

• Noen ganger glemmer hun brukernavnet sitt og ringer kundeservice.
  (same subject hun for both glemmer and ringer, so no comma)