Questions & Answers about De kommer visst senere.
Why is kommer in the present tense if the sentence refers to the future?
Because Norwegian very often uses the present tense for future events, especially when the future action is seen as expected, planned, or fairly certain.
So De kommer senere is completely natural for something that will happen later.
This is similar to English sentences like:
- They’re coming later
- I leave tomorrow
Norwegian can also use other future expressions, but the plain present tense is extremely common.
What does visst mean here?
In this sentence, visst is a modal/sentence adverb that gives the idea of:
- apparently
- it seems
- I hear
- supposedly
It often suggests that the speaker is not stating the information as a firm personal fact, but as something they have heard, inferred, or believe to be the case.
So visst adds a nuance like: the speaker thinks this is true, but the information may come from someone else or from indirect knowledge.
Why does visst come after kommer?