Breakdown of Sausen blir bedre når jeg rører lenge, men jeg rører ikke før jeg har senket varmen.
Questions & Answers about Sausen blir bedre når jeg rører lenge, men jeg rører ikke før jeg har senket varmen.
Sausen is the definite form (“the sauce”). Norwegian often uses the definite form where English might use either “the sauce” or “sauce” in general statements.
- saus = (a) sauce / sauce in general (indefinite)
- sausen = the sauce (the specific sauce you’re talking about)
bli means “to become,” so Sausen blir bedre focuses on a change/improvement over time: “The sauce gets better.”
Sausen er bedre would sound more like a comparison or a state: “The sauce is better (than something else)” or “is better (when…).”
bedre is the comparative form of god (“good”).
- god = good
- bedre = better
- best = best
So blir bedre = “gets better / becomes better.”
når introduces a subordinate clause, and in Norwegian subordinate clauses typically have normal subject–verb order (no inversion):
- Main clause: Sausen blir bedre
- Subordinate clause: når jeg rører lenge (subject jeg before verb rører)
This is different from questions or some main-clause patterns where you might see inversion.
It can cover both depending on context. In a general “rule-like” statement like this, når often means “when/whenever”: the sauce improves in that situation generally.
(For a one-time past event, Norwegian might choose other cues, but når is very common for general statements too.)
å røre can mean both “to touch/move something” and “to stir,” but with saus it naturally means “to stir (the sauce).” The cooking context makes the meaning clear.
If you wanted to be extra explicit, you might also see å røre i sausen (“stir in the sauce”), but it’s not required.
lenge means “for a long time,” and here it modifies rører: jeg rører lenge = “I stir for a long time.”
Word order is flexible, but this is the most neutral placement. You could also say things like jeg rører veldig lenge (“I stir for a very long time”).
In main clauses, ikke usually comes after the finite verb (the verb that’s “conjugated”):
- jeg rører ikke = “I don’t stir”
Then før ... adds the condition/time limit.
In Norwegian, ikke ... før is commonly understood as “not until”:
- jeg rører ikke før jeg har senket varmen = “I don’t stir until I have lowered the heat.”
A literal “don’t stir before…” reading is possible in isolation, but with ikke + før, the intended meaning is typically “not until.”
før jeg har senket varmen uses the present perfect to show the lowering of the heat is completed before the stirring begins: “until I have lowered the heat.”
før jeg senker varmen would more easily suggest the time point “before I lower the heat” (i.e., earlier than the lowering), not “after it’s done.” The perfect makes the sequence clearer: first lower heat (completed), then stir.
It’s the present perfect of å senke (“to lower”):
- infinitive: å senke
- past participle: senket
- present perfect: har senket = “have/has lowered”
Norwegian forms the present perfect with har + past participle for most verbs.
varmen is the definite form of varme and here means “the heat” (e.g., the heat setting on the stove):
- varme = heat (indefinite / general)
- varmen = the heat (specific heat level in this situation)
temperaturen (“the temperature”) is also possible, but it’s a bit more technical. In everyday cooking, senke varmen is very idiomatic.
Yes, normally. Norwegian typically uses a comma before coordinating conjunctions like men when they connect two independent clauses (each with its own subject/verb):
- Sausen blir bedre ... , men jeg rører ikke ...