Breakdown of I helgen tar vi vare på nabokatten mens eieren er på reise.
Questions & Answers about I helgen tar vi vare på nabokatten mens eieren er på reise.
I helgen is the standard way to say this coming weekend / on the weekend (this weekend) in Norwegian.
- i + time period is common for “during/this” with a limited period: i dag, i morgen (also common), i helgen, i sommer.
- på can be used in some dialects or set phrases, but i helgen is what you’ll most often see in standard Bokmål.
å ta vare på is a fixed expression meaning to look after / take care of / keep safe.
It’s “split” because:
- tar is the conjugated verb (present tense of å ta)
- vare på stays as the rest of the expression
So the full infinitive is å ta vare på, but in a sentence you get vi tar vare på ....
Mostly it behaves like a fixed multi-word verb, but word order can still move things around:
- Normal: Vi tar vare på nabokatten.
- With a pronoun object, many speakers prefer: Vi tar vare på den. (not Vi tar den vare på—that would sound wrong)
So it’s not “separable” in the same way as many English phrasal verbs.
Norwegian often uses compound nouns where English uses two words:
- nabokatt = neighbor-cat = “the neighbor’s cat” (context makes it clear)
Then it’s put in the definite form:
- en katt (a cat)
- katten (the cat)
- nabokatten (the neighbor’s cat / the neighbor cat)
You can also say naboens katt (“the neighbor’s cat”), but nabokatten is very natural and compact.
eieren is the definite singular of eier (“owner”):
- en eier = an owner
- eieren = the owner
Norwegian uses definiteness a lot where English might use a possessive or just context. Here it’s “the owner (of the cat).”
Not exactly:
- mens = while (two actions/states overlapping in time)
- når = when (often habitual or future, or general “when”)
- da = when/then (often a specific past event)
Here, mens eieren er på reise means the owner is away at the same time as you’re looking after the cat.
Because mens introduces a subordinate clause, and in subordinate clauses Norwegian keeps normal word order (subject before verb):
- mens eieren er på reise (subject eieren
- verb er)
If the clause started with something else, you’d still typically keep the verb after the subject in a subordinate clause (unlike main-clause inversion rules).
tar is present tense. Norwegian often uses the present tense for near-future plans, similar to English:
- I helgen tar vi vare på ... = “This weekend we’re looking after ... / we’ll look after ...”
You could also use skal to emphasize intention:
- I helgen skal vi ta vare på nabokatten ... (more like “we’re going to / we will”)
Literally it’s “is on a trip/journey,” and it’s a common idiomatic way to say someone is away traveling:
- å være på reise = to be traveling / to be away on a trip
It’s often used when the exact destination isn’t important.
You’d typically place ikke after the finite verb in each clause:
- I helgen tar vi ikke vare på nabokatten mens eieren er på reise.
Or negate the subordinate clause: - ... mens eieren ikke er på reise.
If both are negated, you can negate both parts accordingly.
A few common pronunciation points (varies by dialect):
- helgen: the g is often soft or not strongly pronounced in many dialects (can sound like HEL-en or HEL-jen depending on region)
- tar vare på: stress usually falls on vare in this expression: tar VAre på
- nabokatten: primary stress on the first part: NA-bo-kat-ten
- eieren: often roughly EI-er-en (two/three syllables depending on speech speed)