Undersetninger

Undersetninger are subordinate clauses that function inside a larger sentence and cannot stand alone as complete sentences. In Norwegian grammar, the more common term is leddsetninger (subordinate clauses), and undersetninger appears in some descriptions as a synonym. Subordinate clauses may be substantive (noun) clauses, adverbial clauses, or relative clauses, and they generally provide information such as time, place, reason, condition, purpose, or description. They are typically introduced by subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns.

Common types include adverbial undersetninger, which express time, place, manner, cause, condition, or purpose, and substantive undersetninger, which act as the subject or object of a verb. Relative undersetninger introduce descriptive clauses about a noun and are often marked by relative pronouns like som, som/der, eller hvem. Examples:

- Jeg vet at han kommer. (I know that he is coming.)

- Når det regner, blir vi inne. (When it rains, we stay inside.)

- Jeg spurte om han kunne komme. (I asked whether he could come.)

- Han gikk fordi han var trøtt. (He left because he was tired.)

- Jeg gikk til butikken for å kjøpe melk. (I went to the store in order to buy milk.)

- Dette er boka som jeg liker. (This is the book that I like.)

Word order in undersetninger differs from main clauses: Norwegian subordinate clauses typically place the finite verb at the end, whereas main clauses use a finite verb-second (V2) structure. Subordinate clauses thus contribute to sentence cohesion by linking ideas and providing additional dimensions such as timing, reason, or intention. Similar concepts exist in Swedish and Danish (underordnade bisatser) and in English (subordinate clauses).