Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Læreren, som elevene liker, tegner et kart på tavlen. - The teacher, whom the pupils like, draws a map on the board.

It roughly corresponds to English who, that, or which.
Here it links læreren to extra information about that teacher: som elevene liker = “who the students like”.

So the structure is:

Læreren – the teacher (main noun)
som – who/that (relative pronoun)
elevene liker – the students like (relative clause)

Why is there a comma before som? Could I leave it out?

The commas show that som elevene liker is non‑restrictive (extra information) rather than restrictive (identifying which teacher).

With commas:
Læreren, som elevene liker, tegner et kart på tavlen.
= “The teacher, whom the students like, is drawing a map on the board.”
This assumes you already know which teacher; the clause just adds a comment.
Without commas:
Læreren som elevene liker tegner et kart på tavlen.
= “The teacher whom the students like is drawing a map on the board.”
This distinguishes that teacher from other teachers.

So:

With commas → extra, parenthetical information.
Without commas → essential information to identify which teacher.

In writing, you should not simply delete the comma without being aware that the meaning changes.

Who likes whom in som elevene liker? Is it “the teacher likes the students” or “the students like the teacher”?

In som elevene liker:

elevene = subject (“the students”)
liker = verb (“like”)
som = object of the verb, referring back to læreren (“the teacher”)

So the literal structure is:

“the teacher, whom the students like, draws a map on the board”.

It is not “the teacher likes the students”. For that, you would say:

Læreren liker elevene.

Why is the word order elevene liker and not liker elevene in the clause som elevene liker?

Norwegian word order differs between:

Main clauses (independent sentences)
Subordinate clauses (introduced by words like som, at, fordi, etc.)

In main clauses, Norwegian has the V2 rule: the finite verb usually comes in second position:

Elevene liker læreren. – “The students like the teacher.”
I dag liker elevene læreren. – “Today the students like the teacher.”

In subordinate clauses, you usually get straightforward S–V–O order (no V2):

… fordi elevene liker læreren. – “… because the students like the teacher.”
Læreren, som elevene liker, … – “The teacher, whom the students like, …”

So in som elevene liker:

som (relative pronoun) + elevene (subject) + liker (verb)
→ correct subordinate clause order.

Liker elevene would sound like main‑clause word order and is wrong here.

Why is it læreren and not en lærer or just lærer?

Norwegian usually marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun, not a separate “the”:

lærer – teacher (indefinite, “a teacher” / “teacher”)
læreren – the teacher (definite singular)

In this sentence, we are talking about a specific, known teacher (for example, “the teacher in this class”). Therefore the definite form is used:

Læreren, som elevene liker, …
= “The teacher, whom the students like, …”

If you said:

En lærer, som elevene liker, tegner et kart på tavlen.
→ “A teacher, whom the students like, is drawing a map on the board.”

That would introduce some teacher not previously specified.

Just bare lærer without en or -en is only used in certain special patterns (job titles after å være, general labels, etc.), e.g.:

Han er lærer. – “He is a teacher.”

Why is et kart indefinite, while læreren and tavlen are definite?

Each noun is marked for definiteness according to what is being communicated:

Læreren – definite: we’re talking about a specific teacher that speaker and listener know about.
et kart – indefinite: we introduce a map that has not been mentioned before; it’s just “a map”.
tavlen – definite: usually there is a specific board in the room (the classroom board), so it’s “the board”.

This matches English usage closely:

“The teacher … draws a map on the board.”

What genders are kart and tavle, and how can I tell from the forms et kart and tavlen?

From the forms:

et kart → kart is neuter.
- Indefinite article for neuter: et
- Definite singular would be: kartet (“the map”).
tavlen → tavle is masculine (in standard Bokmål; many speakers treat it as feminine).
- Masculine indefinite: en tavle
- Masculine definite singular: tavlen (“the board”)
- Feminine alternative (also correct in Bokmål):
  - ei tavle (indef.) / tavla (def.)

So the sentence is using:

neuter: et kart
masculine definite: tavlen

Why is it på tavlen (“on the board”) and not i tavlen or some other preposition?

Norwegian, like English, uses specific prepositions with certain nouns and surfaces:

på is used with surfaces or things you write/draw on:
- på tavlen – on the board
- på veggen – on the wall
- på papiret – on the paper
i usually means “in/inside”:
- i boka – in the book
- i skuffen – in the drawer

Since you draw on the surface of the board, the natural preposition is på:

tegner et kart på tavlen – “is drawing a map on the board.”

Can I say på tavla instead of på tavlen? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible in Bokmål:

på tavlen – more traditional/“bookish” masculine form.
på tavla – feminine form, very common in everyday speech and also accepted in written Bokmål.

Norwegian Bokmål often allows:

Masculine: en tavle / tavlen
Feminine: ei tavle / tavla

Many speakers use the -a definite ending in speech, especially in eastern and northern dialects. In formal writing, tavlen might look a bit more conservative, but tavla is fully correct and common.

Can I move the relative clause to another position, like Som elevene liker, læreren tegner et kart på tavlen?

No, that word order is not natural in Norwegian.

The normal structure is:

[Subject + relative clause] + [verb + rest of sentence]

So:

Læreren, som elevene liker, tegner et kart på tavlen.

You cannot front the relative clause by itself like:

✗ Som elevene liker, læreren tegner et kart på tavlen.

If you want to emphasize the relative information, you still keep it right after the noun it describes; you change other parts of the sentence instead (for example adding adverbs, stress in speech, etc.), but you do not detach the relative clause from læreren.

What is the difference in meaning between Læreren, som elevene liker, … and Læreren som elevene liker …?

The commas change the type of relative clause:

With commas – non‑restrictive (additional information):
- Læreren, som elevene liker, tegner et kart på tavlen.
  → “The teacher, whom the students like, is drawing a map on the board.”
  There is only one relevant teacher; the clause simply comments that the students like this teacher.
Without commas – restrictive (identifying):
- Læreren som elevene liker tegner et kart på tavlen.
  → “The teacher whom the students like is drawing a map on the board.”
  Here, the clause som elevene liker tells you which teacher (for example, the one they like vs. the one they don’t like).

So:

with commas → assume the teacher is already identified; you add extra info.
without commas → use the clause to identify which teacher.

How do I express “is drawing” in Norwegian? Does tegner mean “draws” or “is drawing”?

Norwegian does not normally distinguish between simple and progressive present like English does.

tegner (present tense) can mean both:
- “draws” (habitual, general)
- “is drawing” (action happening now)

So:

Læreren tegner et kart på tavlen.
can be:
- “The teacher draws a map on the board.” (for example, every lesson)
- “The teacher is drawing a map on the board (right now).”

If you really need to emphasize the ongoing nature, you can add an adverb or expression like akkurat nå (“right now”):

Læreren tegner akkurat nå et kart på tavlen.
(Still natural would be: Akkurat nå tegner læreren et kart på tavlen.)

Can I omit som in som elevene liker, like in English “the teacher (that) the students like”?

No, you cannot omit som here.

In English, the relative pronoun can sometimes be dropped:

“the teacher (that) the students like”

In Norwegian standard Bokmål, som is required when it functions as the object (or subject) in the relative clause:

Læreren som elevene liker … – correct
✗ Læreren elevene liker … – ungrammatical in standard writing

Some dialects may drop som in speech, but in standard Norwegian you keep it.

Also, you cannot replace som with der in this context in standard Bokmål:

✗ Læreren, der elevene liker, … – wrong
✅ Læreren, som elevene liker, … – correct