Question 1

What tense is våkner and how is it formed?

Accepted Answer

våkner is the present tense of våkne (“to wake up”). In Norwegian Bokmål, most verbs form the present by adding -r to the infinitive:  
• våkne → våkner  
• snakke → snakker  
• lese → leser

Question 2

Why don’t we use a preposition like på before klokken syv?

Accepted Answer

When telling time with klokken (“the clock”), Norwegian drops the preposition. You simply say klokken syv for “seven o’clock,” not på klokken syv.

Question 3

Why is klokken in the definite form?

Accepted Answer

Talking about the time on “the clock” always uses the definite form klokken (klokke + -en). So the fixed phrase is klokken [tidspunkt], e.g. klokken tre, klokken tolv.

Question 4

Can I say klokka syv instead of klokken syv?

Accepted Answer

Yes. klokka is the more informal or spoken form of klokken. Both mean “o’clock”:  
• klokken syv (standard/written)  
• klokka syv (colloquial/spoken)

Question 5

Why does the time expression come after the verb rather than directly after the subject?

Accepted Answer

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in position two. Here the order is:  
1) Subject (Jeg)  
2) Verb (våkner)  
3) Adverbial/time expression (klokken syv)

Question 6

How do you ask “When do you wake up?” in Norwegian?

Accepted Answer

Use når (“when”) and invert the verb and subject:  
Når våkner du?

Question 7

Are there other verbs for “wake up” or “get up” in Norwegian?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Besides våkne (“to wake up”), you can use stå opp (“to get up”/“to rise”):  
• Jeg våkner klokken syv. (I wake up at seven.)  
• Jeg står opp klokka syv. (I get out of bed at seven.)

Question 8

Is syv the only way to say “seven” in Norwegian?

Accepted Answer

No. You can also say sju. In Bokmål writing, syv is more common, whereas sju often appears in speech.

Question 9

How do you pronounce Jeg våkner klokken syv?

Accepted Answer

A rough phonetic guide:  
• Jeg [jæɪ̯]  
• våkner [ˈvoːknər] (the å sounds like the “o” in English “more”)  
• klokken [ˈklɔkən]  
• syv [syːv]

Question 10

Why is Jeg capitalized when it’s a pronoun?

Accepted Answer

Norwegian, like English, capitalizes the first word of a sentence. So Jeg is uppercase only at the beginning; elsewhere in a sentence it stays lowercase (jeg).

Jeg våkner klokken syv.

Breakdown of Jeg våkner klokken syv.

Questions & Answers about Jeg våkner klokken syv.

More from this lesson

Master Norwegian — from Jeg våkner klokken syv to fluency