Hun går på videregående skole.

She attends upper-secondary school.

Breakdown of Hun går på videregående skole.

• hun: she
• gå: to go
• på: at
• videregående skole: upper-secondary school

Questions & Answers about Hun går på videregående skole.

Why does Norwegian use går here? She is not literally walking.

In this sentence, gå på is an idiomatic expression meaning to attend a school or course.

So Hun går på videregående skole means she attends high school or she is in high school, not that she is physically walking anywhere.

This pattern is very common:

• Hun går på skole. = She goes to school / attends school.
• Han går på universitetet. = He attends university.

So here, går keeps its usual form, but the whole expression går på has a special meaning.

Why is the preposition på used instead of i or til?

With schools and many other institutions, Norwegian often uses på in the sense of attending.

So:

• gå på skole
• gå på universitetet
• gå på kurs

This is just the normal Norwegian pattern and does not translate word-for-word into natural English.

Compare:

• Hun går til skolen. = She walks/goes to the school (physical movement toward it)
• Hun går på skolen. = She attends the school / she is at the school
• Hun går på videregående skole. = She attends high school

So på is the right preposition for the idea of being enrolled in or attending school.

Why is there no article before videregående skole?