Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Bestefar, som jeg ringer hver søndag, spør alltid om alderen min. - Grandpa, whom I call every Sunday, always asks about my age.

Capitalization:
In Norwegian, common nouns are not normally capitalized (you write bestefar for “grandfather”).
Here it’s capitalized because it’s being used like a name, the way you might write Grandpa in English when addressing or referring to your grandpa specifically. So:

bestefar = a grandfather (general/common noun)
Bestefar = Grandpa (this particular person’s “name” in the family)

No «min»:
Norwegian often leaves out the possessive with close family members (mamma, pappa, bestefar, bestemor) when the context is clear that we are talking about my family.

So:

Bestefar spør alltid … = (My) Grandpa always asks …
You could say Bestefaren min spør alltid …, but that sounds a bit heavier/less direct and is often used when you’re talking about your grandfather to someone else, not as an affectionate, name‑like reference.

What is the role of «som» in «som jeg ringer hver søndag»? Is it like “who” or “whom”?

«Som» is the standard relative pronoun in Norwegian. It is used for both people and things, and it usually corresponds to English “who / that / which / whom”.

In this sentence:

Bestefar, som jeg ringer hver søndag, …
= Grandpa, whom I call every Sunday, …

Key points:

Norwegian does not use hvem as a relative pronoun here.
You say som jeg ringer, not hvem jeg ringer.
Som doesn’t change form (there is no separate “whom” form in Norwegian).

Why do we say «som jeg ringer» and not «som jeg ringer til»? I thought “ring to someone” was ringe til noen.

Both forms are possible in Norwegian:

ringe noen = call someone (no preposition)
ringe til noen = call to someone

In modern Bokmål, ringe noen (without til) is very common and fully correct.

So you can say:

som jeg ringer hver søndag
som jeg ringer til hver søndag

The version without til is just a bit shorter and more colloquial, but both are fine. The sentence you have simply uses the common, direct-object pattern: jeg ringer bestefar (“I call Grandpa”).

Why is there a comma before and after «som jeg ringer hver søndag»?

The commas show that «som jeg ringer hver søndag» is a non‑restrictive relative clause (an extra piece of information, not needed to identify which grandfather).

Bestefar, som jeg ringer hver søndag, spør alltid …

This is like English:

Grandpa, whom I call every Sunday, always asks …

If it were restrictive, specifying which grandfather, you’d usually omit the commas:

Bestefaren som jeg ringer hver søndag, bor i Bergen.
= The grandfather (the one I call every Sunday) lives in Bergen.
(Here the clause identifies which grandfather.)

So:

With commas: extra information.
Without commas (in many cases): identifying information.

Can the word order be «Bestefar, som ringer jeg hver søndag, …» like English “Grandpa, who I call every Sunday”?

No. In Norwegian relative clauses introduced by som, the normal order is:

som + subject + verb + …
or som + (object) + subject + verb + … depending on what som represents.

Here, som stands for the object (“whom”), and jeg is the subject:

som jeg ringer hver søndag
(literally: “whom I call every Sunday”)

You cannot invert it to som ringer jeg in this kind of clause. «Som ringer jeg …» would be ungrammatical here.

Why is it «hver søndag» and not something like «hver søndager»?

After hver (“every / each”), Norwegian uses the singular indefinite form of the noun:

hver dag = every day
hver uke = every week
hver søndag = every Sunday

You never say hver søndager or hver søndagen; plural or definite forms don’t go with hver.

Why is it «spør alltid» and not «alltid spør»? Where does the adverb «alltid» go?

In a main clause with a normal subject‑verb order, Norwegian typically places sentence adverbs like alltid (always), ofte (often), ikke (not) after the finite verb:

Bestefar spør alltid om alderen min.
(subject Bestefar – verb spør – adverb alltid)

General pattern:

Subject – verb – adverb – other elements

So:

Jeg drikker alltid kaffe om morgenen.
Vi ser ofte på TV.

«Alltid spør» is possible only in special word orders (for example if something else has been moved to the front for emphasis), but not in this simple declarative sentence. For your sentence, «spør alltid» is the neutral, correct order.

Why is it «om alderen min» and not «om min alder»?

Both are grammatically possible:

om alderen min
om min alder

The version in your sentence uses “double definiteness”, which is very normal in Norwegian:

alder = age (indefinite)
alderen = the age (definite)
alderen min = my age (definite + possessive)

So:

om alderen min = about my age
om min alder = also “about my age”, but a bit more formal or marked in style

Norwegian usually prefers the pattern:

den bestemte formen + possessiv
(definite form of the noun + possessive)

especially in informal speech:

boka mi = my book
huset vårt = our house
vennen din = your friend
alderen min = my age

What does «om» mean in «spør alltid om alderen min»? Is it “if” or “about”?

Here «om» means “about”:

spør om alderen min = asks about my age

Om can mean several things, including “if / whether”, but the structure tells you which meaning is intended.

Compare:

Han spør om alderen min.
= He asks about my age. (om
- noun phrase)
Han spør om jeg er gammel nok.
= He asks if I am old enough. (om
- full clause)

So in your sentence, since om is followed by a noun phrase (alderen min), it clearly means “about”.

Why is it «alderen» and not just «alder»?

Alder is the indefinite singular form (“age”).
Alderen is the definite singular form (“the age”).

Because you’re also adding the possessive min, Norwegian normally prefers the definite form:

alder = age
alderen = the age
alderen min = my age

Using just alder min is not correct; it must be alderen min or min alder (with min in front and the noun indefinite).

Could I say «Bestefar spør alltid om hvor gammel jeg er» instead of «… om alderen min»?

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative, and in fact often closer to how people speak:

Bestefar spør alltid om alderen min.
= Grandpa always asks about my age.
Bestefar spør alltid om hvor gammel jeg er.
= Grandpa always asks how old I am.

Both are correct. The difference is mainly stylistic:

om alderen min: uses a noun phrase (“my age”)
om hvor gammel jeg er: uses a clause (“how old I am”)

In everyday speech, many people would default to the clause version (om hvor gammel jeg er).

Why is the verb in the present tense («ringer», «spør») even though it describes a repeated, habitual action?

Norwegian uses the simple present tense for actions that are:

happening now
habitual / repeated
general truths

So:

Jeg ringer bestefar hver søndag.
= I call Grandpa every Sunday.
Bestefar spør alltid om alderen min.
= Grandpa always asks about my age.

You don’t need any extra auxiliary like in English (“I do call”, “he does ask”); the simple present in Norwegian covers habitual actions naturally.