Questions & Answers about Han jobber som lærer.
What is the infinitive of jobber, and how is it conjugated in the present tense?
The infinitive is å jobbe (to work). In Norwegian Bokmål, most verbs simply add -r in the present tense, so jobbe becomes jobber. For example:
• I work – Jeg jobber
• He works – Han jobber
Why is there no indefinite article en before lærer in Han jobber som lærer?
When you use som (as) to describe someone’s profession or role, Norwegian typically omits the indefinite article. So you say jobber som lærer rather than jobber som en lærer. Adding en would be grammatically possible but sounds redundant or overly emphatic.
What exactly does som mean here, and could it ever be left out?
In this sentence, som functions like the English “as” to indicate a professional capacity. You need som to convey “works as a teacher.” Omitting som (i.e. Han jobber lærer) is ungrammatical. If you want to drop som, you must change the structure to Han er lærer (“He is a teacher”).
Could you say Han er lærer instead of Han jobber som lærer? What’s the difference?
Yes, Han er lærer (“He is a teacher”) is perfectly correct.
• Han jobber som lærer focuses on his job activity: “He works as a teacher.”
• Han er lærer emphasizes his profession or identity: “He is a teacher.”