Jeg legger bokmerket i boken før jeg går til postkontoret med pakken.

Legger is the present tense of å legge, which often means to lay / put / place.

In this sentence, Jeg legger bokmerket i boken means that the speaker is putting the bookmark into the book.

A useful contrast is:

• å legge = to lay / put something down
• å ligge = to lie / be located

So:

• Jeg legger bokmerket i boken = I put the bookmark in the book.
• Bokmerket ligger i boken = The bookmark is in the book.

This is a very common Norwegian verb pair, and learners often mix them up.

Bokmerket is the definite form: the bookmark.

The noun is:

• et bokmerke = a bookmark
• bokmerket = the bookmark

Norwegian usually adds the definite ending directly to the noun, instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• Jeg legger et bokmerke i boken = I put a bookmark in the book.
• Jeg legger bokmerket i boken = I put the bookmark in the book.

Here, the sentence refers to a specific bookmark, so the definite form is used.

I boken means in the book, which is natural for a bookmark because it is placed inside the book, between the pages.

• i = in / inside
• på = on / on top of

So:

• i boken = in the book
• på boken = on the book

If you say på boken, it sounds like the bookmark is physically lying on the cover, not inserted into the book.

Yes. Both can be correct, depending on style and dialect.

The noun bok can be treated in two common ways in Bokmål:

• en bok – boken
• ei bok – boka

So both of these are possible:

• i boken
• i boka

They both mean in the book.

In more formal or conservative Bokmål, boken is often more common. In many everyday varieties, boka is very natural.

Norwegian often uses the present tense for actions in the near future, especially when the situation is clear from context.

So:

• Jeg legger bokmerket i boken før jeg går til postkontoret
  can mean
• I put the bookmark in the book before I go to the post office

Even though English often prefers will in some future contexts, Norwegian very commonly uses the present tense here.

This is normal and not especially unusual in Norwegian.

Because før jeg går til postkontoret is a subordinate clause.

In Norwegian main clauses, the verb is usually in the second position:

• Jeg går til postkontoret.

But in subordinate clauses introduced by words like før, fordi, at, når, hvis, the word order is different:

• før jeg går
• fordi jeg går
• når jeg går

So after før, you normally get:

• før + subject + verb

That is why før jeg går is correct.

Because there are really two clause parts here:

1. Jeg legger bokmerket i boken
2. før jeg går til postkontoret med pakken

Each clause needs its own subject, and in both clauses the subject is jeg.

In English, you also do this:

• I put the bookmark in the book before I go to the post office.

You would not normally say:

• before go to the post office

So the repeated jeg is completely normal.

Literally, å gå often means to walk, but in many everyday situations Norwegian uses gå where English would simply say go.

So in this sentence, jeg går til postkontoret can mean:

• I go to the post office

Depending on context, it may or may not emphasize that the person is going on foot.

If you want to be very explicit about transportation, Norwegian might use other verbs:

• jeg kjører til postkontoret = I drive to the post office
• jeg tar bussen til postkontoret = I take the bus to the post office

But går is very natural here.

The preposition til means to.

So:

• gå til postkontoret = go to the post office

The noun is also in the definite form:

• et postkontor = a post office
• postkontoret = the post office

So til postkontoret literally means to the post office.

Med pakken means with the package.

Here it most naturally attaches to går til postkontoret, meaning the speaker is going to the post office taking the package along.

So the idea is:

• I put the bookmark in the book before I go to the post office with the package.

It does not normally mean that the post office has the package. It describes what the speaker is carrying when going there.

For the same reason as bokmerket and boken: it is in the definite form.

• en pakke = a package
• pakken = the package

So med pakken means with the package, referring to a specific package already known in the situation.

If it were indefinite, it would be:

• med en pakke = with a package

Yes. Norwegian allows that, but then the word order in the main clause changes because of the V2 rule.

Original:

• Jeg legger bokmerket i boken før jeg går til postkontoret med pakken.

Reordered:

• Før jeg går til postkontoret med pakken, legger jeg bokmerket i boken.

Notice that after the initial subordinate clause, the verb comes before the subject in the main clause:

• legger jeg
• not jeg legger

This is very important in Norwegian word order.

This exact sentence can already be understood either as a specific action or, in the right context, as something habitual. Norwegian present tense is flexible that way.

If the meaning is habitual, the sentence can mean something like:

• I put the bookmark in the book before I go to the post office with the package.

If you want to make the habitual meaning clearer, you could add words like:

• alltid = always
• vanligvis = usually

For example:

• Jeg legger alltid bokmerket i boken før jeg går til postkontoret med pakken.

That makes the repeated/habitual meaning much clearer.