Word
Før vi kjøper møbler, bruker jeg et målebånd for å måle opp stuen.
Meaning
Before we buy furniture, I use a tape measure to measure up the living room.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Norwegian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Før vi kjøper møbler, bruker jeg et målebånd for å måle opp stuen.
Why is there a comma after møbler?
Because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause: Før vi kjøper møbler (Before we buy furniture). In Norwegian, when a subordinate clause comes first, you normally separate it from the main clause with a comma:
- Før vi kjøper møbler, bruker jeg ... If you put the main clause first, the comma is usually not needed:
- Jeg bruker et målebånd før vi kjøper møbler.
Why is the verb bruker placed before jeg? Shouldn’t it be jeg bruker?
In the main clause, Norwegian follows the V2 rule (the finite verb is in the 2nd position). Since the sentence begins with something else (the subordinate clause), the verb comes right after the comma:
- Før vi kjøper møbler, bruker jeg ... So the order becomes verb + subject (bruker jeg) rather than subject + verb.
Why does it say vi in the first part but jeg in the second part?
The subject can change from one clause to another. Here, we are the people buying furniture (vi kjøper møbler), but the speaker says I am the one using the tape measure (jeg bruker et målebånd). This is completely normal in Norwegian.
What tense is being used in and , and can it refer to the future?