Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg går til skolen til fots hver morgen.

Norwegian often uses til with different meanings: in til skolen it means “towards” or indicates destination (“to school”), while in til fots it forms an idiomatic expression meaning “on foot.” Even though it’s the same preposition, the phrases function differently—one shows direction, the other describes the manner of going.

What exactly does til fots mean, and why isn’t it på fots?

Til fots literally means “to foots,” but idiomatically “on foot.” Norwegian prepositional idioms don’t always match English. Here, til is the conventional preposition for this set expression. På fots isn’t used; you would say til fots whenever you mean you’re walking rather than taking transport.

Why is there no article before skolen? Shouldn’t it be til en skole (“to a school”)?

In Norwegian, when you talk about “the school” you often use the definite form skolen without a separate article. Because this is probably your regular school (a specific one you attend), you say til skolen (“to [the] school”) rather than til en skole (“to a school,” which would sound like any random school).

Could you use på skolen instead of til skolen?

No. På skolen means “at school” (location), not “to school” (direction). Since you’re describing going somewhere (movement), you need til skolen. If you said Jeg er på skolen, that would mean “I am at school.”

Why is hver morgen at the end of the sentence? Could it come earlier?

In Norwegian, time adverbials like hver morgen (“every morning”) often come after the object or manner phrase. So Jeg går til skolen til fots hver morgen is the most natural order: Subject–Verb–Destination–Manner–Time. You could forego flexibility by moving it up for emphasis: Hver morgen går jeg til skolen til fots, but the original order is very common.

What tense is går, and why is there no auxiliary?

Går is the present tense of å gå (“to walk” or “to go”). Norwegian forms the present by adding -r to the verb stem (gå → går). No auxiliary is needed because Scandinavian languages don’t use a separate “do” or “be” auxiliary for simple present statements.

Is hver morgen interchangeable with hver dag?

They’re close but not identical. Hver morgen means “every morning,” focusing on the time of day. Hver dag means “every day,” implying the activity happens daily but without stressing time of day. If you said hver dag, you’d mean you walk to school daily, not specifically in the morning.

Could you omit til fots and still understand the sentence?

Yes, Jeg går til skolen hver morgen is perfectly grammatical and means “I walk to school every morning.” By adding til fots, you emphasize that you’re going by foot rather than, for instance, by bike or bus.