Hun drikker varm te om vinteren.

She drinks hot tea in winter.

Breakdown of Hun drikker varm te om vinteren.

• hun: she
• drikke: to drink
• om: in
• vinteren: the winter
• teen: the tea
• varm: hot

Questions & Answers about Hun drikker varm te om vinteren.

What does drikker mean, and how do you form the present tense in Norwegian?

drikker is the present-tense form of the verb drikke (to drink). In Bokmål you usually form the present by taking the infinitive stem and adding -r:
• drikke → drikker
This applies to all persons (jeg drikker, du drikker, hun drikker).

Why is the adjective varm not inflected (why not varmt te or varme te)?

Norwegian adjectives change endings based on gender, number and definiteness of the noun:
• Common gender, indefinite, singular → no ending (en varm bil, ei varm kake)
• Neuter, indefinite, singular → -t (et varmt hus)
• Definite, any gender → -e (den varme kaken, det varme huset, de varme kakene)
Here te (tea) is a common-gender, indefinite, singular noun, so the adjective stays varm.

Why isn’t there an article before te? How would I say “a cup of tea”?

When you talk about tea in general (a mass noun), you omit the article. If you want one serving, you add a measure word:
• en kopp te – a cup of tea
• et glass vann – a glass of water
But just te means tea as a substance.

What does om vinteren mean, and why do you use om plus the definite form vinteren?

om vinteren literally means “in the winter”, but more precisely “during the winter(s), as a habitual recurring time.”

• om
  • definite singular (vinter + en) expresses repeated or general time periods: om sommeren, om høsten, om våren.

Can I replace om vinteren with i vinter or på vinteren? What’s the difference?

• i vinter refers to this past or coming winter (a specific one).
• om vinteren refers to winters in general (habitual).
• på vinteren is also heard, especially in some dialects, but om vinteren is the most common when you mean “in winter” every year.

Can I put om vinteren at the beginning of the sentence? How does that affect word order?

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in the second position.
Standard: Hun (1) drikker (2) varm te om vinteren.
Time first: Om vinteren (1) drikker (2) hun varm te.
You cannot say Om vinteren hun drikker varm te because the verb must follow immediately after the first element.

What is the basic word order in a simple Norwegian statement like this?

Norwegian typically uses Subject-Verb-Object, with adverbials (time/place) before or after the object, as long as the finite verb stays in second position.
Structure example:
1) (Optional adverbial)
2) Finite verb
3) Subject (if adverbial is first) or object
4) Remaining elements (object/adverbials)

What gender is te, and how does that affect adjectives?

te (tea) is a common-gender noun (in Bokmål treated like en/ ei). Common-gender adjectives in indefinite singular take no ending (varm te). If you had a neuter noun (e.g., hus), you’d use -t (varmt hus).

How would I say “She drinks cold tea in summer” using the same pattern?

Use the adjective kald (cold) and change the season:
«Hun drikker kald te om sommeren.»
Notice you keep kald uninflected (common gender) and om sommeren for the habitual.