The Adventures of “When” in Norwegian

We had some great adventures in Norwegian grammar when we learnt about conjunctions in the last couple of posts. If you guys missed out on those then I suggest you head back to the below links and not miss out.

1. Learn About Conjunctions in Norwegian Part 1
2. Learn About Conjunctions in Norwegian Part 2

But before we can leave the world of Norwegian conjunctions, we need to go on one last adventure of learning about the so called “When” in Norwegian.

If you see the last post, we learnt two Norwegian words, da and når that are supposed to mean “when”. So what’s the difference between the two? It all has to do with time travel.

 

When should we use da?

We use da when we want to tell about something that has happened in the past. 

The following examples should help to make things a bit more clear.

Norwegian	English
Da han kom hjem, hadde barna sovet.	When he came home, the children had slept.
Han begynte å synge da han var 5 år gammel.	He began to sing when he was 5 years old.
Hun var sliten da hun kom fra jobb.	She was tired when she came from work.

 

When should we use når?

We use når when we want to tell about something

• that regularly or frequently happens.
• that will happen in the future.

The following examples should help make things a bit more clearer.

Norwegian	English
Jeg skal snakke når jeg kommer på kontoret.	I shall talk when I come to the office.
Jeg spiser middag når jeg kommer hjem fra skolen.	I eat dinner when I come home from school.
Jeg skal reise til Norge når jeg får penger.	I will travel to Norway when I get money.

 

Hope this lesson helped you learn about when to use the “when” in Norwegian. Keep reading Learn Norwegian for more short and simple lessons that will help you with your Norwegian.