Først når deigen er ferdig, begynner vi å bake sammen.

to be

Breakdown of Først når deigen er ferdig, begynner vi å bake sammen.

• vi: we
• å: to
• sammen: together

Questions & Answers about Først når deigen er ferdig, begynner vi å bake sammen.

Why does the sentence start with Først når ...? What kind of structure is that?

Først når ... means only when ... / not until .... It’s a common way to emphasize that something happens later, and only after a condition is met. Here it highlights that the baking doesn’t start before the dough is ready.

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Why is the word order begynner vi and not vi begynner?

Because Norwegian follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb (here begynner) must be in the second position.
When you front something else (here the time expression Først når deigen er ferdig), the verb comes next, and the subject (vi) moves after it:

• Først når ..., begynner vi ... If you don’t front anything, you get normal order:
• Vi begynner å bake sammen først når deigen er ferdig.

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Why is there a comma after ferdig?

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause (når deigen er ferdig), and Norwegian typically puts a comma after a fronted subordinate clause before the main clause:

• Først når deigen er ferdig, begynner vi ...

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Is here a question word like , or something else?