Types of Subordinate Clauses in Norwegian

In Brief

A Norwegian subordinate clause (leddsetning) is a clause that fills a role inside a larger sentence. Nominal clauses act like noun phrases, adverbial clauses express circumstances such as reason or time, and relative clauses describe a noun. Whatever the type, a finite subordinate clause normally places sentence adverbs such as ikke before the finite verb: fordi hun ikke kommer (“because she is not coming”).

Overview

A clause is a group of words built around a verb. A subordinate clause is dependent: instead of functioning as a complete statement on its own, it serves as one part of another clause. In Jeg vet at hun kommer (“I know that she is coming”), at hun kommer is the thing that I know. In Jeg dro fordi jeg var trøtt (“I left because I was tired”), the subordinate clause gives the reason for leaving.

At B2, it is useful to classify subordinate clauses by their job, not only by the conjunction that introduces them. Norwegian has three central types:

• a nominal clause functions much like a noun or noun phrase—the person or thing that can be a subject, object, or complement;
• an adverbial clause adds circumstances such as time, cause, condition, purpose, or contrast;
• a relative clause modifies a noun or pronoun by identifying or describing it.

For an English-speaking learner, the largest visible difference is often word order. English also says “because she does not come,” with the negative before the lexical verb, but the auxiliary does can hide the underlying contrast. Norwegian shows it directly: main-clause Hun kommer ikke becomes subordinate fordi hun ikke kommer. Recognizing the clause type also helps you choose among at, an interrogative word, an adverbial conjunction, and relative som.

How It Works

The shared subordinate-clause pattern

A finite verb is the verb marked for tense, such as kommer, kom or har. In a neutral Norwegian subordinate clause, the usual core order is:

Position	Introducer	Subject	Sentence adverb	Finite verb	Rest
Pattern	conjunction or question word	who/what acts	ikke, aldri, kanskje	tense-bearing verb	objects and other material
Example	fordi	hun	ikke	har	svart ennå

This gives fordi hun ikke har svart ennå (“because she has not answered yet”). A useful memory rule is often called BIFF in Norwegian teaching: I Bisetninger kommer Ikke Foran det Finite verbet—in subordinate clauses, ikke comes before the finite verb. The term bisetning is also widely used for “subordinate clause,” though leddsetning is common in modern grammatical descriptions.

Compare the two clause types:

Main clause	Subordinate clause
Hun har ikke svart.	fordi hun ikke har svart
Han kommer kanskje senere.	at han kanskje kommer senere
De hadde aldri sett snø.	selv om de aldri hadde sett snø

The rule concerns sentence adverbs, words that comment on or negate the whole statement. It does not mean that every adverb must stand before the verb. Time, place, and manner expressions often remain later: fordi hun jobber hjemme på fredager (“because she works at home on Fridays”).

1. Nominal clauses: a fact, thought, or question as a sentence part

A nominal clause—also called a noun clause—occupies a position where a noun phrase could occur. It commonly serves as the object (what is known, said, hoped, or asked), but it can also be a subject or a complement after være (“be”).

Statements with at

The conjunction at introduces reported facts, opinions, wishes, and other propositions:

• Jeg tror at toget er forsinket. — “I think that the train is delayed.”
• Det er viktig at du forstår. — “It is important that you understand.”
• Problemet er at vi ikke har tid. — “The problem is that we do not have time.”

Norwegian often uses anticipatory det (“it”) and places a long subject clause later: Det er bra at du kom. The more compact At du kom, er bra is grammatical, but heavier and more marked.

In informal speech and uncomplicated writing, at can often be omitted after verbs such as tro, si, vite and håpe: Jeg tror (at) hun kommer. Keeping at is always useful when it makes a long sentence easier to follow.

Indirect questions

An indirect question reports the content of a question rather than asking it directly. It begins with an interrogative word such as hva (“what”), hvem (“who”), hvor (“where”), når (“when”), hvorfor (“why”), or hvordan (“how”). Yes/no questions use om (“whether/if”).

Direct question	Indirect question
Hvor bor hun?	Jeg vet ikke hvor hun bor.
Kommer han?	Jeg lurer på om han kommer.
Hva gjør de?	Kan du fortelle hva de gjør?

The indirect question uses statement-like subject–verb order, not direct-question inversion. When the question word itself is the subject, standard Norwegian normally inserts som: Jeg lurer på hva som skjer (“I wonder what is happening”) and Vet du hvem som ringte? (“Do you know who called?”). Compare Vet du hvem hun ringte? (“Do you know whom she called?”), where hun is the subject and hvem is the object.

2. Adverbial clauses: circumstances and logical links

An adverbial clause modifies the situation expressed by another clause. Its conjunction signals the relationship:

Meaning	Common conjunctions	Example
time	når, da, mens, før, etter at, siden	mens hun gikk
reason	fordi, siden, ettersom	fordi bussen var forsinket
condition	hvis, dersom, om, med mindre	hvis du har tid
concession/contrast	selv om, enda, skjønt	selv om det regner
purpose	for at, slik at	for at alle skal forstå
result	slik at, så ... at	slik at alle kunne høre
comparison	som om, enn	som om han visste svaret

The same word can have different grammatical jobs. Om introduces an indirect yes/no question in Jeg vet ikke om hun kommer (“I do not know whether she is coming”), but a condition in Om hun kommer, begynner vi (“If she comes, we will begin”). Meaning and the larger sentence reveal the function.

An adverbial clause may follow or precede the main clause. If it comes first, the entire subordinate clause occupies the first position of the main clause. Norwegian V2 word order then puts the finite main-clause verb second:

• Vi blir hjemme hvis det regner.
• Hvis det regner, blir vi hjemme.

Notice that blir comes before vi in the second version. This inversion belongs to the main clause; the fronted subordinate clause itself keeps subordinate word order.

3. Relative clauses: information about a noun

A relative clause follows an antecedent, the noun or pronoun it describes. Norwegian normally uses som for people and things, regardless of gender or number:

• mannen som bor her — “the man who lives here”
• bøkene som ligger på bordet — “the books that are on the table”

When som is the subject of its clause, it must be present: in mannen som bor her, som is the one who lives here. When it is the object, it may be omitted: boka (som) jeg leste. Here jeg is the subject and the book is what I read.

Relative clauses preserve subordinate placement of sentence adverbs: en kollega som aldri klager (“a colleague who never complains”) and boka (som) jeg ikke fant (“the book that I did not find”). If a preposition belongs with the missing element, everyday Norwegian usually leaves it at the end: personen (som) jeg snakket med (“the person I spoke with”).

Possession can be expressed with hvis (“whose”): kvinnen hvis sønn jeg kjenner. This form is correct but relatively formal. In less formal Norwegian, speakers often reformulate, for example kvinnen som har en sønn jeg kjenner, depending on the intended meaning.

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Det er viktig at du forstår.	It is important that you understand.	Nominal at-clause after anticipatory det
Jeg håper at møtet ikke tar så lang tid.	I hope that the meeting does not take so long.	Ikke precedes the finite verb tar
Problemet er at vi allerede har brukt pengene.	The problem is that we have already spent the money.	Nominal clause as a complement
Jeg lurer på hva som skjer.	I wonder what is happening.	Hva is the subject, so som is used
Vet du hvem hun snakket med?	Do you know who she spoke with?	Indirect question; hun precedes the verb
Han spurte om jeg kunne hjelpe.	He asked whether I could help.	Om introduces an indirect yes/no question
Hun sang mens hun gikk.	She sang while she walked.	Adverbial time clause
Vi tok taxi fordi bussen ikke kom.	We took a taxi because the bus did not come.	Adverbial reason clause
Selv om han er ung, er han klok.	Although he is young, he is wise.	Fronted clause triggers er han in the main clause
Hvis du ikke har tid, kan vi møtes i morgen.	If you do not have time, we can meet tomorrow.	Condition plus main-clause inversion
Hun snakket tydelig for at alle skulle forstå.	She spoke clearly so that everyone would understand.	Purpose clause
Jeg kjenner en lærer som alltid forklarer godt.	I know a teacher who always explains things well.	Relative som is the subject
Filmen (som) vi så i går, var overraskende god.	The film (that) we saw yesterday was surprisingly good.	Object som may be omitted
Dette er huset (som) besteforeldrene mine bodde i.	This is the house that my grandparents lived in.	The preposition is left at the end

Common Mistakes

Keeping main-clause placement of ikke

• Wrong: Jeg vet at hun kommer ikke.
• Right: Jeg vet at hun ikke kommer.
• Why: In a neutral subordinate clause, the sentence adverb comes before the finite verb.

Using question inversion inside an indirect question

• Wrong: Kan du si hvor bor han?
• Right: Kan du si hvor han bor?
• Why: Hvor bor han? is a direct question. After kan du si, the question is embedded and uses subordinate subject–verb order.

Leaving out som when it is the relative subject

• Wrong: Jeg kjenner mannen bor der.
• Right: Jeg kjenner mannen som bor der.
• Why: Subject som cannot be omitted. Omission is possible only when another explicit subject follows: mannen (som) jeg kjenner.

Omitting som after a subject question word

• Wrong: Jeg vet ikke hva skjer.
• Right: Jeg vet ikke hva som skjer.
• Why: In standard indirect questions, use som when hva or hvem is itself the subject. Do not add it when another subject is present: hva han gjør.

Forgetting inversion after a fronted subordinate clause

• Wrong: Hvis det regner, vi blir hjemme.
• Right: Hvis det regner, blir vi hjemme.
• Why: The initial subordinate clause fills the main clause’s first position, so the finite main verb must immediately follow it.

Confusing causal fordi with question/condition om

• Wrong: Jeg ble hjemme om jeg var syk. (intended: “because I was ill”)
• Right: Jeg ble hjemme fordi jeg var syk.
• Why: Fordi gives an actual reason. Om normally introduces a condition or an indirect yes/no question.

Usage Notes

Both leddsetning and bisetning are used for “subordinate clause.” You will often meet leddsetning in current educational material, while the BIFF mnemonic preserves bisetning. They refer to the same broad word-order contrast for the purposes of this topic.

The conjunction at is pronounced with a short vowel and is distinct from infinitive-marker å, despite frequent spelling confusion among native speakers too: Jeg tror at hun prøver å komme (“I think that she is trying to come”). In speech, complementizer at may disappear when the relationship is obvious, but it is often retained in formal or structurally complex writing.

Comma use does not map perfectly onto English. A relative clause is generally set off with a comma when it adds supplementary information about an already identified referent: Søsteren min, som bor i Bergen, kommer i helgen. A clause needed to identify which person or thing you mean normally has no commas: Studentene som leverte i tide, fikk svar først (“The students who submitted on time received an answer first”). Meaning determines the punctuation.

In conversational Norwegian, especially in some dialects, you may hear patterns that differ from conservative written norms, including main-clause-like word order in certain embedded contexts. For reliable Bokmål writing, use the standard patterns presented here unless you are deliberately representing speech.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Embedded assertions and word-order variation

Not every clause introduced by at behaves equally rigidly in every context. After certain speech and opinion expressions, a speaker may present the embedded content as a more independent assertion, and main-clause-like adverb placement can occur, especially in spontaneous speech. Compare neutral Han sa at han ikke kom with marked conversational patterns that give the quoted content greater independence. For formal writing and as a learner default, subordinate order is the safe choice.

Relative meaning without a stated antecedent

Some clauses combine an interrogative-looking word with a nominal role: Du kan velge hva du vil (“You can choose what you want”) and Den som venter, får se (“The person who waits will see”). In the first, hva du vil functions as the object of velge. In the second, den supplies the antecedent and som venter describes it. These structures show why classification depends on the clause’s function in the whole sentence, not just its first word.

Scope of negation

The position of ikke is syntactic, but interpretation also matters. Compare Jeg tror ikke at hun kommer (“I do not think she is coming”) with Jeg tror at hun ikke kommer (“I think she is not coming”). The first formally negates tror, though in ordinary use it often communicates a negative belief about her coming. The second places the negation unambiguously inside the nominal clause. Skilled writing uses this contrast to control emphasis and scope—what exactly the negation applies to.

Compact alternatives

Norwegian often alternates between a full subordinate clause and a shorter phrase:

• etter at vi hadde spist → etter måltidet
• fordi toget var forsinket → på grunn av forsinkelsen
• boka som ligger på bordet → boka på bordet

The full clause makes participants, tense, and logical relationships explicit. The shorter version can make formal prose less repetitive, but it may also remove useful detail. Good B2 writing varies the structures without sacrificing clarity.

Practice Tips

1. Transform pairs. Start with a main clause such as Hun har ikke tid. Add different introducers: Jeg vet at hun ikke har tid, fordi hun ikke har tid, and en person som ikke har tid. This makes the shared word-order pattern automatic.
2. Label the job before the form. For each subordinate clause you read, ask whether it names the content of a thought or question, gives a circumstance, or describes a noun. Then underline its introducer, subject, sentence adverb, and finite verb.
3. Practice fronting aloud. Say both orders: Vi går ut hvis været blir bedre and Hvis været blir bedre, går vi ut. Listening for the inversion in the main clause is often more effective than memorizing it in isolation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Clauses — reviews som, omission of object som, and relative clauses before they are compared with other subordinate-clause types.