Han venter på kontoret.

He waits at the office.

Breakdown of Han venter på kontoret.

• han: he
• på: at
• kontoret: the office
• vente: to wait

Questions & Answers about Han venter på kontoret.

Why is there no auxiliary verb to express “He is waiting” as in English?

In Norwegian the simple present tense covers both the English simple present and the present continuous. So

• Han venter på kontoret.
  can mean either “He waits at the office” or “He is waiting at the office,” depending on context.
  If you really want to stress the ongoing nature, you can sometimes say:
• Han holder på å vente (literally “he is in the process of waiting”)
• Han står og venter (literally “he stands and waits”)
  but in everyday speech the plain present (venter) is standard.

What exactly does venter mean in this sentence?

venter is the present tense of å vente (“to wait”). Conjugation in the present tense is simply:

• Infinitive: å vente
• Present: venter
• Past: ventet
• Past participle: ventet

So Han venter literally means “He waits” or “He is waiting.”

What role does på play in på kontoret?

Here på is a preposition meaning “on” or “at,” used to mark location. The phrase på kontoret means “at the office.” Norwegian commonly uses på with:

• Workplaces: på jobb/en, på kontoret
• Schools: på skolen
• Islands: på øya
  …and so on.

Could I use i instead of på and say Han venter i kontoret?

You can, but there’s a nuance:

• på kontoret is the idiomatic way to say “at work” or “at the office.”
• i kontoret focuses more on being physically inside that room.
  Most Norwegians use på kontoret when talking about being at their workplace.

Why is kontoret in the definite form rather than just kontor?

Norwegian uses the definite form when referring to a specific, known location. If both speaker and listener know which office is meant, you say kontoret (“the office”). If it were non-specific, you would keep it indefinite.

How would I say “at an office” if it isn’t a specific one?

Use the indefinite article et with kontor:

• på et kontor (“at an office,” i.e. some office, unspecified)
  Thus Han venter på et kontor means “He is waiting in an office” (not a particular one).

How do you form the definite form of neuter nouns like kontor?

Norwegian nouns have three genders; kontor is neuter. Its forms are:

• Indefinite singular: et kontor
• Definite singular: kontoret (add -et)
• Indefinite plural: kontorer (add -er)
• Definite plural: kontorene (add -ene)

How would you ask “Is he waiting at the office?” in Norwegian?

You invert verb and subject (the V2 rule):

• Venter han på kontoret? (Literally “Waits he at the office?”)
  If you just want to ask “Is he at the office?” you can also say:
• Er han på kontoret?

Sometimes I see venter på used with people (like venter på deg). How do I tell when på is part of “wait for” versus when it marks location?

It’s the same preposition but different functions:
1) With venter på + person/thing, it means “to wait for”:

• Han venter på bussen. (“He is waiting for the bus.”)
  2) With venter
  • på + place, it marks where the waiting happens:
• Han venter på kontoret. (“He waits/is waiting at the office.”)
  Context and what follows på (a person vs. a location) will make the meaning clear.

Can I emphasize the location by putting på kontoret first? What happens to the word order?

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 rule (finite verb in second position). If you start with the adverbial på kontoret, the verb stays second:

• På kontoret venter han.
  (The subject han moves to third position.) This structure adds emphasis or stylistic variation.