Questions & Answers about Hvis jeg blir trøtt, legger jeg meg tidlig.
Why is there a comma in Hvis jeg blir trøtt, legger jeg meg tidlig?
Norwegian usually puts a comma after an introductory subordinate clause (a leddsetning) when the main clause follows. Here, Hvis jeg blir trøtt is the subordinate conditional clause, and legger jeg meg tidlig is the main clause—so the comma is standard.
Why does the word order change after the comma—why legger jeg instead of jeg legger?
Norwegian is a V2 (verb-second) language in main clauses: the finite verb typically comes in position 2. When a subordinate clause comes first, it occupies position 1 in the main clause, so the verb must come next:
- Fronted element: Hvis jeg blir trøtt,
- Verb (2nd position): legger
- Subject: jeg So you get legger jeg, not jeg legger.
Is Hvis the same as English if? Are there any special rules after hvis?
Yes, hvis generally corresponds to English if. The key rule is that the clause introduced by hvis is a subordinate clause, which affects word order inside it:
- In subordinate clauses, you usually keep the normal subject–verb order: jeg blir So Hvis jeg blir trøtt is expected.