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Når du kommer hjem, setter vi i gang med å lage middag.

Når du kommer hjem, setter vi i gang med å lage middag.
When you get home, we get started making dinner.
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Questions & Answers about Når du kommer hjem, setter vi i gang med å lage middag.

Why is kommer (present tense) used if the meaning is in the future (“when you get home”)?

Norwegian commonly uses the present tense to talk about scheduled or expected future events, especially in time clauses with når (when). So Når du kommer hjem literally looks like present tense, but it naturally means when you get home (in the future context).

What’s the grammar role of Når du kommer hjem—is it a main clause or a subordinate clause?

It’s a subordinate (dependent) time clause introduced by når.
Inside that clause, Norwegian usually keeps normal SVO word order:

  • du (subject) + kommer (verb) + hjem (adverb)

So: Når du kommer hjem (not inversion like in main clauses).

Why does the main clause start with setter vi instead of vi setter?

Because Norwegian is a V2 language in main clauses: the finite verb must be the second element.
Here, the first element is the entire time clause Når du kommer hjem, so the verb of the main clause (setter) must come next, and the subject (vi) follows:

  • Når du kommer hjem, setter vi i gang …

If you remove the fronted time clause, you’d get normal order:

  • Vi setter i gang med å lage middag.
Is the comma after hjem required?

In Norwegian, it’s standard to use a comma when a subordinate clause comes first and is followed by a main clause:

  • Når du kommer hjem, setter vi i gang …

If the main clause comes first, the comma is often omitted:

  • Vi setter i gang med å lage middag når du kommer hjem.
What does hjem mean here, and why isn’t there a preposition like “to”?

hjem works as an adverb meaning (to) home in Norwegian. Many motion expressions use hjem without a preposition:

  • Jeg går hjem = I’m going home
  • Han kommer hjem = He comes home / He’s coming home

So you don’t need a separate word for to here.

What does the expression setter … i gang mean, and how is it used?

å sette i gang is an idiom meaning to start / to get going / to set something in motion.

You can use it:

  • intransitively (start doing something): Vi setter i gang. = We get started.
  • with a “med å …” phrase (start by doing something / start doing something): Vi setter i gang med å lage middag.
  • with an object (start something): Vi setter i gang prosjektet. = We start the project.
Why does it say med å lage and not just å lage?

The phrase is å sette i gang med (å) …, literally to get going with (to) …. In modern Norwegian you’ll most often see:

  • sette i gang med å + infinitive

It links the “getting started” to the activity that follows. (In some styles you may also see the å omitted after med, but med å lage is very common and safe.)

What is the function of å in å lage middag?

å is the Norwegian infinitive marker (like English to):

  • å lage = to make / to cook

So med å lage middag means by starting to make dinner / with making dinner (depending on context), but the overall idiomatic meaning is simply that you start cooking.

Why is it lage middag and not something like lage en middag?

In Norwegian, meals are often used without an article when you mean the general activity/meal:

  • lage middag = cook dinner / make dinner
  • spise frokost = eat breakfast

Adding en can sound more specific, like a particular dinner (e.g., a dinner event or a specific planned meal), depending on context.

Could I replace Når with Da here?

Usually, no.

  • Når is used for general time or future/recurring situations: “when(ever) you get home.”
  • Da is typically used for a specific time in the past: “when (that time) you got home.”

So for a future situation like this, Når is the natural choice.

Is there a more neutral/less idiomatic way to say the same thing?

Yes. Common alternatives include:

  • Når du kommer hjem, begynner vi å lage middag. = …we start cooking dinner.
  • Når du kommer hjem, skal vi begynne å lage middag. = …we’re going to start cooking dinner. (more explicit “future”)
  • Når du kommer hjem, starter vi med å lage middag. = …we start by making dinner.