Subordinate Clauses in Norwegian

In Brief

A Norwegian subordinate clause (leddsetning) cannot normally stand alone and is introduced by a word such as at (that), om (whether/if), når (when), mens (while), or fordi (because). Its most important word-order pattern is subject + sentence adverb + finite verb: fordi jeg ikke har tid (“because I do not have time”), not fordi jeg har ikke tid.

Overview

A clause is a group of words built around a verb. A main clause can be a complete sentence by itself: Hun kommer i morgen (“She is coming tomorrow”). A subordinate clause adds information to another clause but normally cannot stand alone: Jeg vet at hun kommer i morgen (“I know that she is coming tomorrow”). The subordinate clause can report a thought, express uncertainty, give a time, describe simultaneous events, or supply a reason.

This A2 topic builds directly on basic Norwegian word order. In a main clause, the finite verb (the verb marked for tense, such as kommer, kom, har, or kan) normally occupies the second position. In a subordinate clause, the conjunction comes first, then the subject, and sentence adverbs such as ikke usually come before the finite verb. Norwegian learners often remember this as the BIFF rule: I Bisetninger kommer Ikke Foran det Finite verbet (“In subordinate clauses, ikke comes before the finite verb”). Bisetning is another common term for leddsetning.

English often places “not” after an auxiliary—“because she cannot come”—so the Norwegian order needs deliberate practice. The good news is that the same basic pattern works with many conjunctions and many sentence adverbs.

How It Works

The beginner pattern

The core structure is:

Part	Conjunction	Subject	Sentence adverb	Finite verb	Rest
Pattern	because	I	not	have	time
Norwegian	fordi	jeg	ikke	har	tid

This gives fordi jeg ikke har tid. A sentence adverb comments on or affects the whole statement. Common examples include ikke (not), aldri (never), alltid (always), kanskje (perhaps), and ofte (often). Their exact placement can vary in more advanced usage, but putting ikke before the finite verb is the essential A2 rule.

Compare the two clause types:

Clause type	Norwegian	English	Position of ikke
Main clause	Jeg har ikke tid.	I do not have time.	After the finite verb
Subordinate clause	… fordi jeg ikke har tid.	… because I do not have time.	Before the finite verb
Main clause	Hun kan ikke komme.	She cannot come.	After the finite verb
Subordinate clause	… at hun ikke kan komme.	… that she cannot come.	Before the finite auxiliary kan

When there is an auxiliary or modal verb plus another verb, the sentence adverb goes before the finite verb, not merely before the last verb: at hun ikke har sett filmen (“that she has not seen the film”), fordi vi ikke kan vente (“because we cannot wait”).

Five high-frequency conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction is a linking word that makes the following clause dependent on another clause.

Conjunction	Core meaning	Typical use	Example
at	that	Statements, thoughts, knowledge, reports	Jeg tror at han er hjemme.
om	whether; if	Indirect yes/no questions or uncertainty	Jeg vet ikke om han er hjemme.
når	when	Present, future, or repeated situations	Ring meg når du kommer hjem.
mens	while; whereas	Simultaneous actions or contrast	Jeg lager mat mens hun dekker bordet.
fordi	because	A reason or cause	Vi blir inne fordi det regner.

At: reporting a statement

Use at after verbs such as si (say), tro (think/believe), vite (know), håpe (hope), and høre (hear):

Jeg håper at du kommer (“I hope that you are coming”). As with English “that,” at is sometimes omitted in everyday Norwegian: Jeg tror hun kommer snart. The following words still express the content of the thought. For learners, keeping at is often useful because it makes the clause boundary and its word order easy to see.

Do not confuse at with å. At introduces a clause containing a subject and a finite verb: Jeg vet at hun jobber. Å marks an infinitive (the basic “to” form of a verb): Hun liker å jobbe.

Om: whether or if

Use om when the hidden direct question could be answered yes or no:

• Direct question: Har du tid? (“Do you have time?”)
• Indirect question: Jeg lurer på om du har tid (“I wonder whether you have time”).

The indirect question does not keep question order. It has subject before verb: om du har tid, not om har du tid. Om can also mean conditional “if,” especially for a possible condition: Jeg blir hjemme om jeg ikke føler meg bedre (“I’ll stay home if I don’t feel better”).

Når, mens, and fordi: time and reason

Use når for “when” in present or future contexts and for things that happen repeatedly: Når jeg er ferdig, ringer jeg deg (“When I am finished, I’ll call you”). Use mens when two events overlap: Han hører på musikk mens han arbeider. It can also contrast two facts, much like “whereas”: Jeg liker te, mens søsteren min foretrekker kaffe.

Use fordi to answer Hvorfor? (“Why?”): Jeg tar bussen fordi det regner. The clause explains the reason for the main statement.

Where the subordinate clause can go

A subordinate clause may follow the main clause:

Vi spiser når hun kommer.

It may also come first. The entire subordinate clause then occupies the first position of the following main clause, so the main clause keeps verb-second order:

Når hun kommer, spiser vi.

Notice the inversion in the main clause: spiser vi, not vi spiser. The subordinate clause itself still has its normal order. In writing, a comma normally separates an initial subordinate clause from the following main clause.

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Jeg vet at hun kommer.	I know that she is coming.	At introduces reported information.
Han sier at han ikke er sulten.	He says that he is not hungry.	Ikke comes before finite er.
Vi håper at toget kommer i tide.	We hope that the train arrives on time.	A clause after håper.
Jeg vet ikke om jeg har tid.	I do not know whether I have time.	Om introduces an indirect yes/no question.
Kan du spørre om de ikke har fått e-posten?	Can you ask whether they have not received the email?	Ikke precedes the finite auxiliary har.
Jeg ringer deg når jeg kommer hjem.	I’ll call you when I get home.	Future reference with når.
Når jeg ikke jobber, går jeg ofte på tur.	When I’m not working, I often go hiking.	Initial subordinate clause; går jeg follows V2.
Hun leser mens barna sover.	She reads while the children are sleeping.	Two events happen at the same time.
Jeg sykler, mens broren min alltid tar bussen.	I cycle, whereas my brother always takes the bus.	Mens marks a contrast.
Vi blir hjemme fordi det regner.	We are staying home because it is raining.	The subordinate clause gives a reason.
Fordi jeg ikke kan komme i kveld, møtes vi i morgen.	Because I cannot come tonight, we’ll meet tomorrow.	Ikke before kan; main clause has møtes vi.
Hun var glad fordi hun hadde bestått prøven.	She was happy because she had passed the test.	A reason in the past.
Da vi var unge, bodde vi i Bergen.	When we were young, we lived in Bergen.	Da refers to a past period.
Jeg tror hun ikke kommer i dag.	I don’t think she is coming today.	At is omitted, but subordinate order remains visible.

Common Mistakes

Putting ikke after the verb

• Wrong: Jeg blir hjemme fordi jeg har ikke tid.
• Right: Jeg blir hjemme fordi jeg ikke har tid.
• Why: In a subordinate clause, ikke normally comes before the finite verb: ikke har.

Keeping question order after om

• Wrong: Jeg vet ikke om kommer han.
• Right: Jeg vet ikke om han kommer.
• Why: An indirect question is a subordinate clause, not a direct question. Put the subject before the verb.

Forgetting inversion after an initial subordinate clause

• Wrong: Når jeg kommer hjem, jeg lager middag.
• Right: Når jeg kommer hjem, lager jeg middag.
• Why: The opening subordinate clause fills the first position. The finite verb must therefore come before the subject in the main clause.

Using at where Norwegian needs å

• Wrong: Jeg liker at lese.
• Right: Jeg liker å lese.
• Why: Å introduces an infinitive. Use at before a clause with its own subject and finite verb: Jeg liker at du leser for barna.

Using om for every English “if”

• Wrong: Jeg vet ikke hvis hun kommer.
• Right: Jeg vet ikke om hun kommer.
• Why: After “know,” “ask,” or “wonder,” use om for “whether.” Hvis introduces a condition: Hvis hun kommer, blir jeg glad (“If she comes, I’ll be happy”). English uses “if” for both jobs; Norwegian usually distinguishes them.

Using når for a single completed past event

• Less natural: Når jeg kom hjem i går, sov barna.
• Better: Da jeg kom hjem i går, sov barna.
• Why: Da normally points to a particular completed time in the past. Når is usual for present, future, and repeated occasions.

Usage Notes

The BIFF rule is an excellent learner rule, but first identify whether the words really form a subordinate clause. Coordinating conjunctions such as og (and) and men (but) join equal clauses and do not automatically trigger subordinate word order: Jeg er trøtt, men jeg legger meg ikke ennå (“I’m tired, but I’m not going to bed yet”). By contrast, fordi jeg ikke er trøtt has subordinate order.

English and Norwegian often choose similar conjunctions, but not always. English “if” may correspond to om in an indirect question and hvis or sometimes om in a condition. English “when” commonly splits into når for present, future, or repeated events and da for a particular past event. Learning the conjunction together with its function is more reliable than memorizing a single English equivalent.

In speech, at is frequently left out after common reporting and thinking verbs. Both Jeg tror at hun kommer and Jeg tror hun kommer are natural. Do not assume that omission turns the content into an independent main clause; adverb placement can still show the subordinate pattern: Jeg tror hun ikke kommer.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every point here at A2, but these patterns explain forms you will meet later.

More subordinating words

The same basic word order appears after many other conjunctions: hvis (if), selv om (even though), før (before), etter at (after), siden (since/because), and slik at (so that).

• Selv om hun ikke har tid, hjelper hun oss. — “Even though she does not have time, she helps us.”
• Vent her til jeg kommer tilbake. — “Wait here until I come back.”
• Han dro før møtet var ferdig. — “He left before the meeting was over.”

Main-clause-like order in speech and style

Real Norwegian is more flexible than a beginner formula suggests. Some sentence adverbs can occur in different positions depending on emphasis, rhythm, dialect, or whether the speaker presents a reason as a separate assertion. You may especially hear main-clause-like order in informal speech after certain connectors. For clear, neutral Bokmål, however, standard subordinate order is the safest choice: fordi jeg ikke vet.

Embedded clauses inside larger sentences

A subordinate clause can contain another dependent structure:

Jeg vet at hun blir hjemme fordi hun ikke føler seg bra.

Here at hun blir hjemme … reports what is known, while fordi hun ikke føler seg bra gives the reason. Work from one conjunction at a time rather than trying to parse the whole sentence at once.

Relative clauses and indirect questions use closely related word-order principles. For example, mannen som ikke bor her (“the man who does not live here”) also places ikke before the finite verb. Those patterns become separate B1 topics.

Practice Tips

1. Transform pairs. Start with a main clause such as Hun kommer ikke. Add a frame—Jeg tror at …—and move ikke: Jeg tror at hun ikke kommer. Practise with har ikke, kan ikke, and vil ikke.
2. Build two-ended sentences. Say the same idea with the subordinate clause last and first: Jeg tar bussen fordi det regner → Fordi det regner, tar jeg bussen. Check both subordinate word order and main-clause inversion.
3. Listen for conjunctions. When you hear at, om, når, mens, or fordi, pause mentally and identify the subject, sentence adverb, and finite verb. Short news clips and everyday conversations provide many examples.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Word Order — provides the main-clause verb-second pattern that subordinate clauses contrast with.
• Next step: Relative Clauses — applies dependent-clause word order in descriptions introduced by som.
• Next step: Temporal Conjunctions — develops contrasts among når, da, mens, før, and related time expressions.
• Next step: Indirect Questions — expands the pattern introduced here with om and question words.
• Next step: Advanced Conjunctions — adds more precise relations such as concession, purpose, and condition.
• Later: Indirect Speech — builds on at-clauses to report what someone said or thought.