Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb, setter hun kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet og henger skjorten på en kleshenger.

Here, så fort means as soon as.

It can literally mean so fast / so quickly in other contexts, but in this sentence it introduces a time clause:

• Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb ... = As soon as she gets home from work ...

A very close alternative is så snart. Both are common.

Norwegian often uses the present tense in sentences like this for:

• habitual actions: something she normally does
• future situations after a time expression: something that will happen when that time comes

So this can mean either:

• Whenever she gets home from work, she puts the mince in the fridge and hangs the shirt on a hanger
• or, depending on context, As soon as she gets home from work, she’ll put the mince in the fridge and hang the shirt on a hanger

Also, after time words like så fort, Norwegian normally uses the present tense, just like English says when she gets home, not when she will get home.

This is because Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule.

The whole first clause:

• Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb

counts as the first element in the sentence. After that, the finite verb of the main clause must come second:

• setter hun ...

So the structure is:

1. Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb
2. setter
3. hun
4. the rest of the sentence

Compare:

• Hun setter kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet.
• Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb, setter hun kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet.

This is a very common word-order pattern in Norwegian.

Because hjem often works like an adverb meaning home.

So Norwegian says:

• komme hjem = come home
• dra hjem = go home

You usually do not say komme til hjem.

If you name a specific place, then a preposition may be needed:

• Hun kommer til huset. = She comes to the house.

But hjem is a special, very common word that usually does not need til.

Because fra jobb is an idiomatic everyday expression meaning from work.

In Norwegian, some nouns can appear without an article in common expressions involving places or activities, especially things like:

• på jobb = at work
• fra jobb = from work
• på skolen / på skole in some contexts
• i kirken / i kirke depending on meaning

So:

• fra jobb = from work, in a general sense

If you say fra jobben, it sounds more like from the workplace / from her job as a more specific thing. Both can be possible, but fra jobb is very natural here.

Because the sentence treats the first three as specific, known things:

• kjøttdeigen = the mince / the ground meat
• kjøleskapet = the fridge
• skjorten = the shirt

But en kleshenger means a hanger, so it is not being presented as a specific previously known hanger.

This is very normal in Norwegian:

• -en and -et are common definite endings
• en is the indefinite article for many masculine/common-gender nouns

So:

• skjorte = a shirt

• skjorten = the shirt

• kjøleskap = a fridge
• kjøleskapet = the fridge

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• kjøtt + deig → kjøttdeig
• kjøle + skap → kjøleskap
• klær / kle(s) + henger → kleshenger

English often writes similar expressions as two words:

• ground meat
• refrigerator / fridge
• clothes hanger

But in Norwegian, compounds are normally joined together. This is an important spelling habit to learn.

When the noun becomes definite, the definite ending goes on the last part:

• kjøttdeig → kjøttdeigen
• kjøleskap → kjøleskapet

Because Norwegian often uses more specific placement verbs than English.

English often uses put for many situations, but Norwegian often chooses a verb based on how the object ends up being placed.

Some common ones are:

• sette = set/put something into position, often upright or placed somewhere
• legge = lay/put something down
• stille = set/stand something upright
• henge = hang something

So here:

• setter hun kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet = she puts/sets the mince in the fridge
• henger skjorten på en kleshenger = she hangs the shirt on a hanger

For the shirt, henge is clearly the natural choice because the shirt ends up hanging.

For the mince, sette suggests placing it in the fridge as an item/container/package. In real life, speakers might sometimes choose a different placement verb depending on how they imagine the object.

Because the prepositions reflect different kinds of location:

• i = in / inside
• på = on / onto

So:

• i kjøleskapet = inside the fridge
• på en kleshenger = on a hanger

This matches the physical idea:

• the meat goes inside the fridge
• the shirt goes on the hanger

Prepositions in Norwegian do not always match English perfectly, but here they line up quite neatly.

Because both verbs share the same subject.

The sentence is:

• setter hun kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet og henger skjorten på en kleshenger

The subject hun belongs to both verbs:

• she puts the mince in the fridge
• and she hangs the shirt on a hanger

Norwegian, like English, often leaves the subject unstated in the second part when it is clearly the same:

• She puts the mince in the fridge and hangs the shirt on a hanger.

You could repeat hun, but it would usually sound heavier and less natural here.

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

• Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb, setter hun ...

This is standard Norwegian punctuation.

So the structure is:

• subordinate clause first: Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb
• comma
• main clause: setter hun kjøttdeigen ...

The comma helps the reader see where the time clause ends and the main statement begins.

Yes, you can.

For example:

• Hun setter kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet og henger skjorten på en kleshenger så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb.

That is also grammatical.

The difference is mainly in emphasis:

• Så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb, ... puts the time condition first
• Hun setter ..., så fort hun kommer hjem fra jobb starts with the action instead

And notice the word order difference:

• with the time clause first: setter hun
• without it first: hun setter

That happens because of the V2 rule.

Yes. In this sentence, så snart would be a very natural alternative.

• Så snart hun kommer hjem fra jobb, setter hun kjøttdeigen i kjøleskapet og henger skjorten på en kleshenger.

Both så fort and så snart can mean as soon as.

A small nuance:

• så snart may sound a little more neutral or textbook-like
• så fort is very common in everyday speech

But in most contexts, either one works well.