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Vi feirer bursdagen hennes i kveld, og vi spiser kake.

Vi feirer bursdagen hennes i kveld, og vi spiser kake.
We celebrate her birthday tonight, and we eat cake.

Breakdown of Vi feirer bursdagen hennes i kveld, og vi spiser kake.

spise
to eat
vi
we
og
and
bursdagen
the birthday
kaken
the cake
i kveld
tonight
hennes
her
feire
to celebrate
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Questions & Answers about Vi feirer bursdagen hennes i kveld, og vi spiser kake.

Why does Norwegian use feirer in the present tense when the sentence refers to tonight (the future)?

Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about scheduled or planned future events when a time expression makes the timing clear.
So Vi feirer … i kveld literally uses present tense (feirer) but means we are celebrating tonight / we will celebrate tonight. You could also say Vi skal feire … i kveld (using skal) to make the future intention even more explicit.

What’s going on with bursdagen—why is it not bursdag?

Bursdagen is the definite form of bursdag (birthday).

  • en bursdag = a birthday (indefinite)
  • bursdagen = the birthday (definite)

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually shown by adding an ending to the noun (here -en), rather than always using a separate word like the.

Why is the possessive hennes placed after the noun: bursdagen hennes?

Norwegian commonly places possessives after the noun, especially in everyday speech:

  • bursdagen hennes = her birthday (literally the birthday hers)

Placing the possessive before the noun is also possible, but the form changes:

  • hennes bursdag = her birthday (more neutral/formal in tone, and the noun is typically indefinite here)

So bursdagen hennes is very common and natural.

How do I choose between hennes and sin here?

Use sin/sitt/sine when the possessor is the subject of the same clause. Use hennes/hans/deres when the possessor is someone else (or when you want to be very explicit).

Here the subject is vi (we), so the birthday belongs to someone else (a “her”), so hennes is correct:

  • Vi feirer bursdagen hennes = we celebrate her birthday

If the subject were hun (she), then you’d normally use sin:

  • Hun feirer bursdagen sin = she celebrates her (own) birthday
Why is i kveld at the end of the first clause? Can it be moved?

Yes, it can move. I kveld is an adverbial (time expression), and Norwegian is fairly flexible with adverbials.

Common options:

  • Vi feirer bursdagen hennes i kveld. (neutral)
  • I kveld feirer vi bursdagen hennes. (emphasis on tonight; note verb-second word order)
What does og do here, and does it affect word order?

Og means and and links two main clauses: 1) Vi feirer bursdagen hennes i kveld
2) vi spiser kake

Because each part is a full main clause, the second clause keeps normal main-clause word order. If you start the second clause with something other than the subject, you still follow the verb-second rule in that clause.

Do I have to repeat vi after og?

Not always. Repeating vi is correct and very common, especially when each clause feels like its own statement:

  • …, og vi spiser kake.

You can also omit it, especially in shorter, more flowing style:

  • …, og spiser kake.

Both are natural; repeating vi can sound a bit clearer or more deliberate.

Why is it spiser kake and not spiser en kake?

Norwegian often omits the article when talking about something in a general, non-counted way—especially with food and drink:

  • spiser kake ≈ eat cake / have cake (some cake, cake as a food)

If you mean one whole cake (a specific countable item), you’d use an article:

  • spiser en kake = eat a (whole) cake

So in a birthday context, spiser kake usually means we’ll have some cake.

Is kake singular or plural here?

Grammatically it’s singular (the dictionary form), but the meaning is often mass-like: cake in general / some cake. If you wanted plural cakes (several cakes), you’d say:

  • spiser kaker

But for birthday cake as a treat, spiser kake is the normal phrasing.

How do I pronounce feirer, bursdagen, and kveld roughly?

A rough guide (pronunciation varies by dialect):

  • feirer: something like FAY-rer (two syllables; the ei is like the vowel in day for many speakers)
  • bursdagen: roughly BOORS-dah-gen (the -en ending is often a light -en)
  • kveld: roughly kvel(d) with a clear kv sound; the final d may be weak or not fully released in some dialects

If you tell me which dialect you’re aiming for (Oslo/Eastern vs Western, etc.), I can refine this.