Learn Hardcore Norwegian: En billettkontrollør spør meg om billetten min. - A ticket inspector asks me for my ticket.

It’s a compound of billett (ticket) + kontrollør (controller/checker). In English it corresponds to “ticket inspector” or “ticket controller,” i.e. the person on a train/bus who checks your ticket.

Why is en used before billettkontrollør?

In Norwegian Bokmål, common-gender nouns take the indefinite article en. Kontrollør is treated as a common-gender noun, so you say en billettkontrollør = “a ticket inspector.”

Why is meg used instead of jeg?

Jeg is the subject form (“I”), meg is the object form (“me”). Here the ticket inspector is doing the asking, and you are the object of spørre (to ask), so you use meg.

What does om do in spør meg om billetten min?

With spørre (to ask), you use the preposition om when you want to ask someone about something. It’s the equivalent of English “ask someone about something.”
Example pattern:
• spørre noen om noe = “ask someone about something”

Why is billetten written with -en at the end, and then followed by min?

In Norwegian, a possessed noun in the definite form takes both the suffixed article and a post-posed possessive pronoun.
• billett = “ticket” (indefinite)
• billetten = “the ticket” (definite)
• billetten min = “my ticket” (definite + postposed min)

Could I say min billett instead of billetten min?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

min billett = “my ticket” in an indefinite/general sense (you’re just referring to a ticket of yours among others).
billetten min = “my ticket” as a specific, definite object you hold (the one we’re talking about).

Why is the order spør meg om billetten min and not spør om billetten min meg?

Norwegian syntax places object pronouns (like meg) immediately after the verb, and then any prepositional phrase. Pronouns almost always precede prepositional objects, so the correct order is:
verb + object pronoun + prepositional object.

How would I change the sentence to past tense?

You replace spør with its past form spurte:
En billettkontrollør spurte meg om billetten min.
– “A ticket inspector asked me about my ticket.”

What’s the difference between spørre om and be om?

• spørre om noe = “to ask about something” (information or details)
• be om noe = “to ask for something” (make a request or demand)
Examples:

spørre om veien = “ask about the way/directions”
be om hjelp = “ask for help”