Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full, vasker hun alt, men noen klær blir fortsatt rynkete.

Here så fort means as soon as, not as fast as.

In Norwegian, så fort + clause is a common way to say that one thing happens immediately when another thing happens:

• Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full, ... = As soon as the laundry basket gets full, ...

In other contexts, så fort can also mean so fast or as fast as, so the meaning depends on the sentence.

A close alternative here is:

• Så snart skittentøyskurven blir full, ...

That also means as soon as the laundry basket gets full.

Because Norwegian very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

Here:

• skittentøy = dirty laundry / washing
• kurv = basket
• skittentøyskurv = laundry basket
• skittentøyskurven = the laundry basket

So this is built like:

• skittentøy + kurv + -en

The -en at the end is the definite article for many masculine nouns, so kurven means the basket.

This kind of long compound word is extremely normal in Norwegian.

That -s- is a linking element often used in Norwegian compounds.

So:

• skittentøy
  • kurv becomes
• skittentøyskurv

This linking -s- does not usually have a separate meaning by itself. It just helps connect the parts of the compound in a natural-sounding way.

You will see this in many Norwegian words, but not in all compounds. Unfortunately, it often has to be learned case by case.

Because blir full means becomes full / gets full, while er full means is full.

So:

• skittentøyskurven blir full = the laundry basket gets full
• skittentøyskurven er full = the laundry basket is full

In this sentence, the idea is that when the basket reaches that state, she washes everything. So blir is the natural choice.

This is because of the V2 word order rule in Norwegian.

Norwegian usually puts the finite verb in second position in main clauses.

The first part of the sentence is a subordinate clause:

• Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full

After that comes the main clause. Since the sentence begins with that time clause, the verb in the main clause must come before the subject:

• vasker hun alt

Compare:

• Hun vasker alt. = She washes everything.
• Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full, vasker hun alt.

This inversion is very important in Norwegian.

Yes. It is a subordinate clause that gives the time condition: as soon as the laundry basket gets full.

A useful clue is that it begins with så fort, which introduces the clause.

In Norwegian subordinate clauses, word order is often different from main clauses. Here, though, the clause is fairly straightforward:

• skittentøyskurven = subject
• blir = verb
• full = adjective

Then the main clause follows:

• vasker hun alt

So the full structure is:

• subordinate clause: Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full
• main clause: vasker hun alt
• coordinated main clause: men noen klær blir fortsatt rynkete

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

So:

• Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full, vasker hun alt ...

This is standard and helps make the structure clear.

Then there is another comma before men, because men joins two main clauses:

• ... vasker hun alt, men noen klær blir fortsatt rynkete.

Here alt means everything or all of it, referring to all the laundry.

So:

• vasker hun alt = she washes everything / she washes it all

This is the neuter form related to all:

• all = all (common gender / masculine-feminine contexts)
• alt = all / everything (neuter or abstract totality)
• alle = all (plural)

In this sentence, alt is the natural word for everything.

This means some clothes still end up wrinkled or some clothes are still getting wrinkled / remain wrinkled.

Word by word:

• noen = some
• klær = clothes
• blir = become / get / end up
• fortsatt = still
• rynkete = wrinkled

So the sentence is saying that even though she washes everything, some clothes still do not come out smooth.

Here blir again means become / get.

So:

• klærne er rynkete = the clothes are wrinkled
• klærne blir rynkete = the clothes get wrinkled / become wrinkled

In this sentence:

• noen klær blir fortsatt rynkete

the idea is that after washing, some clothes still end up wrinkled. English might translate this in several natural ways:

• some clothes still get wrinkled
• some clothes still end up wrinkled
• some clothes are still wrinkled

The Norwegian wording emphasizes the result or change into that state.

Because fortsatt is an adverb modifying the whole idea of becoming wrinkled: still.

So:

• blir fortsatt rynkete = still become / still end up wrinkled

This position is very natural in Norwegian. Adverbs like fortsatt, ofte, ikke, and similar words often appear around the verb phrase rather than directly before the adjective.

Rynkete is an adjective meaning wrinkled.

Here it is used as a predicative adjective, meaning it comes after a linking verb such as er or blir:

• Klærne er rynkete.
• Klærne blir rynkete.

When adjectives are predicative in Norwegian, they often do not change in the same way they do when placed before a noun.

Compare:

• rynkete klær = wrinkled clothes
• klærne er rynkete = the clothes are wrinkled

Since klær is plural, rynkete is the correct form here.

Because klær is plural, and noen is used with plural countable nouns:

• noen klær = some clothes

Noe is usually used for uncountable nouns or abstract amounts:

• noe vann = some water
• noe tid = some time

Even though clothes can feel like a mass noun in English, Norwegian treats klær as a plural noun, so noen klær is correct.

Klær is plural.

The singular is usually:

• et klesplagg = a garment or in some contexts
• et plagg = a piece of clothing

Norwegian commonly uses klær where English uses clothes.

So:

• noen klær = some clothes

There is no common singular noun et klær.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Når skittentøyskurven blir full, vasker hun alt.
  = When the laundry basket gets full, she washes everything.

• Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full, vasker hun alt.
  = As soon as the laundry basket gets full, she washes everything.

Så fort emphasizes immediacy more strongly. It suggests she washes the clothes right away.

Yes, that is a very literal breakdown:

• skitten = dirty
• tøy = cloth / laundry
• skittentøy = dirty laundry
• kurv = basket
• skittentøyskurven = the laundry basket / the dirty-laundry basket

In natural English, the laundry basket is the best translation.

The sentence can be divided like this:

1. Så fort skittentøyskurven blir full
   = subordinate time clause

2. vasker hun alt
   = main clause

3. men noen klær blir fortsatt rynkete
   = another main clause joined by men

So the overall pattern is:

• [Time clause], [main clause], but [main clause].

This is a very common sentence structure in Norwegian.