Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Kafeen der vi øver blir etter hvert stille. - The café where we practice becomes quiet over time.

der is the standard relative adverb meaning “where” after a place word: Kafeen der vi øver …
hvor can also be used in Bokmål here and is common: Kafeen hvor vi øver …
som alone cannot mean “where.” If you use som, keep the preposition: Kafeen som vi øver i … You can also drop som in this non-subject position: Kafeen vi øver i …
Don’t double it: Kafeen der vi øver i is ungrammatical.

Where can I put etter hvert in this sentence?

All of these are idiomatic, with small differences in emphasis:

Kafeen der vi øver blir etter hvert stille. (neutral)
Kafeen der vi øver blir stille etter hvert. (very common in speech)
Etter hvert blir kafeen der vi øver stille. (focus on the time frame; obeys V2 with the verb second)

Why use blir instead of er?

bli + adjective expresses a change of state: blir stille = “gets/becomes quiet.” er stille describes a state: “is quiet.” With etter hvert (gradual change), blir is the natural choice.

Does blir here mean “will become”? How do I express the future?

Norwegian often uses the present for near-future, ongoing, or habitual meaning. Depending on context, blir can mean “is getting” or “tends to get.” For a clear future prediction, use:

kommer til å bli: Kafeen … kommer til å bli stille etter hvert.
skal (intention/plan), less likely here.

Is stille an adjective or an adverb here?

Adjective. It describes the subject (kafeen) in the predicate: blir … stille. Adjectives like stille often have the same form in all genders/numbers: en stille kafé, et stille rom, stille gater. For “quietly,” Norwegian often prefers other words, e.g., snakke lavt/rolig rather than snakke stille.

Is etter hvert one word or two? Any good alternatives?

Two words in Bokmål: etter hvert (Nynorsk: etter kvart). Don’t write etterhvert. Near-synonyms: gradvis, med tiden, sakte men sikkert. Note the difference from til slutt (“finally, in the end”), which highlights the final point rather than a gradual process.

Why is it definite Kafeen and not indefinite En kafé?

The relative clause (der vi øver) identifies a particular café, so the definite form is natural: “the café where we rehearse.” En kafé der vi øver … would suggest introducing a non-specific café and would be unusual unless you mean “any café where we rehearse.”

Is it kafe or kafé, and what’s the definite form?

Both spellings exist in Bokmål. Choose one style and stick to it:

Without accent: en kafe – kafeen – kafeer
With accent: en kafé – kaféen – kaféer You’ll see both in real-world texts.

What about word order inside der vi øver? Does V2 still apply?

No. In subordinate/relative clauses, you don’t use V2. It’s subject–verb order:

der vi øver (not: der øver vi)
With adverbs: der vi ofte øver, der vi ikke øver (adverbs come before the verb in subclauses).

Which preposition goes with øve for places and for what you practice?

Object of practice: øve på [noe] — Vi øver på sangen.
Location: i for “inside a specific place,” på for certain venues or the general idea of being “at” a place. So: Vi øver i kafeen (inside that café); Vi øver på kafé (at a café, in general). In a relative clause: kafeen vi øver i (safe); kafeen vi øver på is also heard regionally.

Should there be a comma before der?

Not here. This is a restrictive relative clause (it identifies which café), so no comma: Kafeen der vi øver … With non-restrictive, parenthetical info you can use commas: Kafeen, der vi øver, blir … meaning “The café (incidentally, the place we rehearse) becomes …”

Can I front the time or place and still keep correct word order?

Yes. Norwegian main clauses follow V2 (the finite verb is second):

Etter hvert blir kafeen der vi øver stille.
I kafeen der vi øver blir det etter hvert stille. (Here det is an expletive subject: “it becomes quiet.”)

Pronunciation tips for tricky parts?

ø in øver: rounded vowel, like the vowel in English “bird” but with rounded lips.
hv in hvert: the h is silent; say it with a clear v.
Double consonants (as in stille) signal a short preceding vowel.
Stress: ka-FE-en (stress on the second syllable), DER, VI, Ø-ver, blir, ET-ter, HVERT, STIL-le.

Can I say stillere or helt stille?

Yes:

blir etter hvert stillere = “gets quieter and quieter”
blir til slutt helt stille = “ends up completely quiet”

Why hvert (neuter) in etter hvert and not hver?

etter hvert is a fixed idiom meaning “over time/gradually.” Don’t change the form. It’s not the literal “after each,” which would be etter hver followed by a noun (e.g., “after each lesson”).