"Han er nok dessverre borte i helgen."
Translation:Unfortunately, he is probably gone on the weekend.
14 Comments
What is a word order that comes after a verb? Could we inverse 'nok' and 'dessverre'?
Adverbs describing the verb usually comes after the verb. However, inversing 'nok' and 'dessverre' wouldn't work, at least not in this sentence.
Unfortunately, there isn't a single extensive and reliable Norwegian-English dictionary available which is also free, so if a definition is lacking it doesn't mean that it doesn't exists.
Having said that, "nok" is a tricky word to translate when used in this sense, and even the Norwegian dictionary struggles to define it.
Depending on context one might translate it to either "probably" or "surely" (or even omit it completely), and you can think of it as a way of softening a sentence that would be an absolute statement if we removed the "nok" - adding either a touch or probability or opinion into the mix.
Imagine consoling a mother who's worryingly waiting for her child to return home:
"Hun kommer nok hjem snart."
"She'll probably be home soon."
"She'll surely be home soon."
"I think she'll (probably/surely) be home soon."
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Tusen takk! I realise there is no such thing as a perfect 1-on-1 translation for most words, and free dictionaries may have their limitations I guess. I just failed to see how enough and probably/surely were related and where this "other" meaning came from :)
I understand your explanation of the "touch of probability/opinion" but am still wondering how the "enough" part fits in. Say you have the sentence "Han spiser nok", would this be "He is probably/surely eating" or "He is eating enough"?
Bare hyggelig! I'm not sure where the other meaning came from, as the dictionary only gives one etymological source. Maybe someone will come around and educate us both eventually. ;)
The sentence could mean either of those two things, but with context it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which is the intended meaning. Very generally you can expect "nok" as in "probably/surely" to be found either in reassuring statements or in answers to a question
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Det ser ut som at nok kommer fra tysk "noch". Se punkt 2: https://www.naob.no/ordbok/nok_2
"Gone on the weekend" is not idiomatic English. It would be gone at the weekend. Gone on Saturday, even gone on Saturday and Sunday but gone at the weekend.
My translation using "at" got rejected as an incorrect answer. Reported it but pretty annoying. I remember hearing that "on the weekend" as a phrase more used in North America (supposedly), while "at the weekend" is the most common way of saying it in the UK, where I am from.
Yep, "on the weekend" is fine here in Australia too, but "gone" is slightly strange. "Away on the weekend" is more natural (and is accepted as a correct answer).
