Hvis vi går tom for melk, kan du gå til butikken?

Gå tom for is a fixed expression meaning to run out of something.

In this sentence:

går tom for melk = run out of milk

Word by word, it is something like:

• går = goes
• tom = empty
• for = for

So the literal image is a bit like go empty of milk, but in normal English the natural translation is run out of milk.

You can use the same pattern with other things too:

• gå tom for penger = run out of money
• gå tom for bensin = run out of gas/petrol
• gå tom for tid = run out of time

Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when the future meaning is already clear from the context.

So:

Hvis vi går tom for melk
literally looks like If we run out of milk / If we are running out of milk

but it naturally means:

If we run out of milk

This is very common in Norwegian. English sometimes does something similar in if-clauses:

• If it rains tomorrow, we’ll stay home.

English also uses present tense there, not if it will rain. Norwegian works much the same way.

Hvis means if, so it introduces a condition that may or may not happen.

Når means when, and it is usually used when something is expected or seen as more certain.

So:

• Hvis vi går tom for melk = If we run out of milk
• Når vi går tom for melk = When we run out of milk

In your sentence, hvis suggests that running out of milk is just a possibility, not a sure thing.

This is because of Norwegian word order rules.

The first part, Hvis vi går tom for melk, is a subordinate clause. When that clause comes first, the main clause that follows still obeys the verb-second rule.

That means the finite verb comes before the subject:

• Hvis vi går tom for melk, kan du gå til butikken?

Here, the whole Hvis-clause takes the first position, so the finite verb of the main clause, kan, comes next, and then the subject du.

This is similar to what happens in statements too:

• I morgen kan du gå til butikken.
• Hvis vi går tom for melk, kan du gå til butikken.

So kan du is not random; it follows a basic Norwegian sentence pattern.

It is grammatically a question, but in meaning it often works like a request.

Kan du gå til butikken? can mean:

• Can you go to the store?
• Could you go to the store?
• Would you mind going to the store?
  depending on tone and context

So kan du does not only ask about ability. Very often it is used to ask someone to do something politely.

Til means to, in the sense of movement toward a destination.

So:

• gå til butikken = go to the store

This is different from i butikken, which means in the store.

Compare:

• Jeg går til butikken. = I’m going to the store.
• Jeg er i butikken. = I’m in the store.

So til is used because the sentence is about going somewhere.

Butikken means the store.

Norwegian often uses the definite form when the place is already understood from the situation, such as the usual nearby store or the one both speakers know about.

So:

• til butikken = to the store
• til en butikk = to a store

In this sentence, butikken sounds natural because it probably means the familiar store the speakers have in mind.

Melk is usually treated as an uncountable noun, like milk in English.

So you normally just say:

• melk = milk

not:

• en melk

In gå tom for melk, the meaning is simply run out of milk.

If you were talking about a specific milk already mentioned, you might use the definite form:

• melken = the milk

But in this sentence, plain melk is the normal choice.

Yes. Gå often means walk, but it can also be used in everyday speech where English would simply say go, especially for nearby places.

So:

• gå til butikken can mean go to the store
• It may suggest going on foot, but in casual speech people often translate it simply as go

Other verbs you might see are:

• dra til butikken = go to the store
• reise is more for traveling, especially longer trips

In this sentence, gå til butikken is very natural.

The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause:

• Hvis vi går tom for melk, kan du gå til butikken?

This helps show the structure clearly:

• subordinate clause: Hvis vi går tom for melk
• main clause: kan du gå til butikken?

In Norwegian, commas are commonly used after a fronted subordinate clause like this.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Hvis = if
• vi = we
• går tom for = run out of
• melk = milk
• kan = can
• du = you
• gå = go
• til = to
• butikken = the store

So a very literal version would be:

If we run out of milk, can you go to the store?

That is also the natural English translation, so this sentence matches English fairly well overall, except for the idiom gå tom for and the Norwegian word order after the hvis-clause.