Hun sier at hun vil nedbetale alt i år, selv om gjelden fortsatt er stor.

She says that she wants to pay off everything this year, even though the debt is still big.

Breakdown of Hun sier at hun vil nedbetale alt i år, selv om gjelden fortsatt er stor.

• være: to be
• hun: she
• stor: big
• at: that
• fortsatt: still
• alt: everything
• selv om: even though
• si: to say
• ville: want
• i år: this year
• nedbetale: to pay off
• gjelden: the debt

Questions & Answers about Hun sier at hun vil nedbetale alt i år, selv om gjelden fortsatt er stor.

Why is at used after Hun sier, and can it be left out?

At introduces a reported (subordinate) clause, similar to English that: Hun sier at ... = She says (that) ....
It’s often possible to omit at in speech and informal writing: Hun sier hun vil nedbetale alt i år. In more careful/standard written Norwegian, keeping at is common and often preferred.

Why is hun repeated: Hun sier at hun ...?

Because the sentence contains two clauses:

• Main clause: Hun sier ...
• Subordinate clause (what she says): at hun vil nedbetale ...

Norwegian normally requires an explicit subject in the subordinate clause too, so you repeat hun rather than “reusing” it implicitly.

What does vil mean here—does it mean “want to” or “will (future)”?

Vil can express both intention/willingness (want to / intend to) and a future meaning (will). In this context, it typically means intends/wants to: hun vil nedbetale alt i år = she intends to pay it all down/off this year.

If you want a stronger sense of plan/commitment or obligation, Norwegian often uses skal: hun sier at hun skal nedbetale ....

Why is the verb form nedbetale (infinitive) after vil?

After modal verbs like vil, kan, må, skal, Norwegian uses the infinitive without å:

• vil nedbetale (not vil å nedbetale)

So vil + infinitive is the standard pattern.

What’s the difference between nedbetale and betale ned?

They are very close in meaning: “pay down / pay off (a debt).”

• nedbetale is a single verb and can feel slightly more formal/financial.
• betale ned is a very common everyday alternative.

Both work here: vil nedbetale alt / vil betale ned alt.

Why does it say alt i år and not something like alt dette året?

i år is the normal, idiomatic way to say this year.
Alt i år means “all of it within this year.” You can say alt dette året, but it’s heavier and often used for emphasis or contrast.

Why is there a comma before selv om?

Because selv om gjelden fortsatt er stor is an additional subordinate clause (a concessive clause: “even though ...”). In Norwegian, it’s standard to separate such clauses with a comma when they follow the main clause.

How does selv om work grammatically?

Selv om means even though / although and introduces a subordinate clause. It signals contrast: she says she’ll pay everything this year, even though the debt is still large.

Why is the word order gjelden fortsatt er stor and not gjelden er fortsatt stor?

Both are possible, but there’s an important rule in subordinate clauses: sentence adverbs (like fortsatt, ikke, aldri, ofte) typically come before the verb:

• Subordinate clause style: ... at gjelden fortsatt er stor
• Also possible (often a bit more “main-clause-like”/less strict): ... at gjelden er fortsatt stor

A clear contrast is with ikke (not), where the “adverb-before-verb” placement is very strong in subordinate clauses: ... at gjelden ikke er stor.

What does gjelden mean, and why does it have -en at the end?

Gjeld means debt.
Gjelden is the definite form: the debt. Norwegian often expresses “the” by adding an ending to the noun:

• en gjeld (a debt) / gjelden (the debt)

In this sentence, it refers to a specific known debt, so the definite form is used.