Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss sende et nytt vedlegg eller en tydeligere kopi. - If a document is missing, the office asks us to send a new attachment or a clearer copy.

et dokument mangler = “a document is missing”
Literally: a document is missing/lacking
You do not add er in front of a main verb like mangler.
Compare:
- Dokumentet mangler. – The document is missing.
- Vi mangler et dokument. – We are missing a document / We lack a document.

If you said et dokument er mangler, it would sound like “a document is is-missing”, which is ungrammatical.

Why is there a comma after Hvis et dokument mangler?

Hvis et dokument mangler is a subordinate clause (introduced by hvis = if). The rest, ber kontoret oss sende et nytt vedlegg eller en tydeligere kopi, is the main clause.

In standard written Norwegian Bokmål:

When a subordinate clause comes first, you normally put a comma before the main clause:
- Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss sende …
- Når vi er ferdige, går vi hjem.
If the subordinate clause comes after the main clause, you usually don’t use a comma:
- Kontoret ber oss sende et nytt vedlegg hvis et dokument mangler.

So the comma here simply marks the boundary between the if-clause and the main clause.

Why is it ber kontoret oss and not kontoret ber oss after the comma?

This is the classic V2 word order rule in Norwegian main clauses:

The finite verb (here: ber) must be in second position.
The whole subordinate clause (Hvis et dokument mangler) counts as position 1.
So the main clause must start with the verb in position 2:
- Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss …
  (1: hvis-clause, 2: ber, 3: kontoret, 4: oss)

If you remove the hvis-clause and start directly with the main clause, you get the more “normal-looking” order:

Kontoret ber oss sende et nytt vedlegg …

So both orders are correct, but:

Without a fronted clause: Kontoret ber oss …
With a fronted clause: Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss … (V2 rule)

What is the difference between ber and spør?

Both translate to “ask” in English, but they are used differently:

be (ber, ba, har bedt) = ask someone to do something, request / beg
- Kontoret ber oss sende et nytt vedlegg.
  The office asks us to send a new attachment.
- Jeg ba ham komme tidligere. – I asked him to come earlier.
spørre (spør, spurte, har spurt) = ask a question
- Jeg spør ham om adressen. – I ask him for the address / I’m asking him the address.
- Hun spurte hva klokka var. – She asked what time it was.

In this sentence, ber is correct because the office is requesting us to do an action (send something), not asking a question.

Why is it oss and not vi in ber kontoret oss sende?

Oss is the object (accusative) form of vi:

vi = “we” (subject)
oss = “us” (object)

In the main clause:

Subject: kontoret (the office)
Verb: ber
Object (the people being asked): oss (us)

So:

Kontoret ber oss sende …
= The office asks us to send …

Using vi would be like saying “The office asks we to send…”, which is incorrect in both languages.

Why does oss come between kontoret and sende?

The structure with be is:

be + person (object) + infinitive (verb)
be noen gjøre noe

So:

kontoret = subject (who is asking)
ber = finite verb
oss = object (who is asked)
sende = infinitive (what we are asked to do)

This gives:

Kontoret ber oss sende et nytt vedlegg …

You can also add om å:

Kontoret ber oss om å sende et nytt vedlegg …

Both patterns are correct:

be noen gjøre noe
be noen om å gjøre noe

The version without om å is a bit more compact and is common in written Norwegian.

Why is it et nytt vedlegg and not et ny vedlegg?

Norwegian adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun.

vedlegg is neuter (like et vedlegg = an attachment).
For neuter singular indefinite, the adjective takes -t:
- ny (basic form)
- nytt (neuter singular)
- nye (plural / definite)

So:

et nytt vedlegg – a new attachment (correct)
et ny vedlegg – incorrect (adjective doesn’t match the gender)

More examples:

et stort hus – a big house (hus = neuter)
en stor bil – a big car (bil = masculine)
ei stor bok – a big book (bok = feminine, often treated as common gender: en stor bok is also fine)

Why is it en tydeligere kopi and not something like en mer tydelig kopi?

Both tydeligere and mer tydelig are possible, but tydeligere is the regular comparative form of the adjective tydelig.

tydelig – clear
tydeligere – clearer (more clear)
tydeligst – clearest (most clear)

So:

en tydelig kopi – a clear copy
en tydeligere kopi – a clearer copy

You can say en mer tydelig kopi, but for most short, common adjectives like tydelig, the -ere comparative is more natural.

Grammar notes:

The comparative form (tydeligere) does not change for gender:
- en tydeligere kopi
- et tydeligere bilde
- tydeligere kopier

What are the genders and forms of dokument, kontor, vedlegg, and kopi in this sentence?

et dokument – a document
- Gender: neuter
- Definite: dokumentet – the document
kontoret – the office
- Base form: et kontor (neuter)
- Definite singular: kontoret – the office
et vedlegg – an attachment
- Gender: neuter
- Definite singular: vedlegget
- Plural indefinite: vedlegg
- Plural definite: vedleggene
en kopi – a copy
- Gender: usually treated as masculine (common gender)
- Indefinite: en kopi
- Definite: kopien

In the sentence:

et dokument – indefinite, neuter
kontoret – definite, neuter
et nytt vedlegg – indefinite, neuter
en tydeligere kopi – indefinite, masculine/common

Why is the verb in the present tense (mangler, ber) if this can happen in the future?

Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about:

General truths / rules
Habits or routines
Procedures that apply whenever a situation occurs

Here, the sentence describes a general rule or routine:

Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss sende …
= Whenever / If a document is missing, the office asks us to send …

Even though this may refer to future situations, Norwegian likes the present for this type of generic statement, just like English:

If a document is missing, the office asks us…

Can I use om instead of hvis here?

In many cases, hvis and om both translate to “if”, but they aren’t always interchangeable.

hvis is the default for conditional “if” (if X happens, then Y).
om can also mean “if”, but is more common in:
- Indirect yes/no questions:
  - Jeg vet ikke om han kommer. – I don’t know if he is coming.
- Some conditional sentences in everyday speech.

In your sentence, hvis is the most natural choice because it clearly marks a condition:

Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss sende … – conditional rule.

You could hear Om et dokument mangler, … in colloquial speech, but hvis is safer and stylistically more standard here.

Could I say Når et dokument mangler instead of Hvis et dokument mangler?

You could, but the nuance changes slightly:

hvis = if (conditional, it may or may not happen)
når = when/whenever (something you expect will or does happen)

So:

Hvis et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss …
= If a document is missing, the office asks us … (conditional)
Når et dokument mangler, ber kontoret oss …
= When(ever) a document is missing, the office asks us …
(sounds more like a routine that definitely occurs from time to time)

Both can be correct, depending on whether you want to stress condition (hvis) or repeated situation / rule (når). In many practical contexts, they will feel very similar.