Breakdown of Jeg sykler på en ny sykkelsti hver morgen.
jeg
I
en
a
hver
every
morgenen
the morning
på
on
ny
new
sykle
to cycle
sykkelstien
the bike path
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Questions & Answers about Jeg sykler på en ny sykkelsti hver morgen.
Why is på used before en ny sykkelsti instead of no preposition?
In Norwegian you normally use på with verbs of motion or transport (like sykle, gå, kjøre) to indicate the surface or route you’re on. So Jeg sykler på en veg (I ride on a road) or på en sykkelsti (on a bike path). Omitting på would sound unnatural here.
Why is sykler used rather than another verb like kjører or tar?
Sykler is the present tense of å sykle (to cycle/bike). You use it when you mean “you’re riding a bike.” Å kjøre is more for cars or other vehicles, and å ta would mean “to take” (e.g. ta bussen – take the bus).
Why is en ny sykkelsti indefinite (with en) instead of definite (den nye sykkelstien)?
Because you’re talking about a different new bike path each morning, not one particular path. The indefinite article en fits with ny (new) and a singular noun sykkelsti. If you spoke about one specific new bike path you and your listener both know, you’d say den nye sykkelstien.
What does hver mean in hver morgen, and how is it used?
Hver means every. Placed before a time expression, it shows repetition: hver morgen (every morning), hver dag (every day), hver uke (every week).
Could I say om morgenen instead of hver morgen? What’s the difference?
Yes, you can say om morgenen, which means in the morning (generally speaking). Hver morgen emphasizes that it happens every single morning. If you say om morgenen sykler jeg…, you’re describing a habitual activity too, but less pointedly “every single morning.”
Why is sykkelsti one word instead of two?
Norwegian loves compound nouns. You combine sykkel (bike) + sti (path) to form sykkelsti (bike path). Writing them separately would be incorrect in Norwegian.
Could I drop the article and say på ny sykkelsti?
No. In singular you need the indefinite article en (for masculine nouns like sti) plus the adjective ny. So på en ny sykkelsti is required. Without en, it’s ungrammatical.
Why does hver morgen come at the end of the sentence? Can I move it?
Yes. Time expressions in Norwegian are fairly flexible. You can say:
• Hver morgen sykler jeg på en ny sykkelsti.
• Jeg sykler hver morgen på en ny sykkelsti.
Putting hver morgen at the start or end is both fine; it just changes emphasis slightly.
How do you pronounce sykler and sykkelsti?
In IPA roughly:
• sykler [ˈsʏklər] (“SYU-kluhr”)
• sykkelsti [ˈsʏkləlsˌti] (“SYU-kəl-stee”)
Remember y in Norwegian sounds like the German ü or French u in lune.