Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper, ringer vi legen i morgen. - If the tablet does not help, we will call the doctor tomorrow.

Hvis is the normal word for “if” in conditional sentences, especially when you’re talking about a real, concrete condition:
- Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper, ringer vi legen.
  = If the tablet doesn’t help, we’ll call the doctor.
Om is often used for:
- Indirect yes/no questions:
  - Jeg vet ikke om han kommer. = I don’t know if he’s coming.
- More “whether”-type meanings.

In your sentence, it’s a straightforward condition (“if this happens, then we’ll do that”), so hvis is the natural choice. Om would sound less natural here.

Why is the word order tabletten ikke hjelper and not ikke hjelper tabletten?

Norwegian has a fairly strict word order in main and subordinate clauses.

In a subordinate clause introduced by hvis, the typical order is:

[hvis] + subject + (adverb like ikke) + verb + ...

So:

Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper
- tabletten = subject
- ikke = negation
- hjelper = verb

The order tabletten ikke hjelper matches this pattern.

The alternative hvis ikke tabletten hjelper can exist but has a slightly different emphasis (“if it’s not the tablet that helps…”).
Hvis ikke hjelper tabletten is ungrammatical.

Why is there a comma after hvis tabletten ikke hjelper? Is it always required?

Yes, in standard written Norwegian you normally put a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause when the subordinate clause comes first.

Structure here:

Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper, → subordinate (conditional) clause
ringer vi legen i morgen. → main clause

So you write:

Hvis …, ringer vi …

If you reverse the order, you still have a comma, but now between main and subordinate clause:

Vi ringer legen i morgen, hvis tabletten ikke hjelper.

So: a comma is expected where the hvis-clause meets the main clause.

Why is it ringer vi legen and not vi ringer legen after the comma?

This is the V2 rule (verb-second word order) in main clauses.

In a main clause, the finite verb (here ringer) must normally be the second element in the sentence:

First element: can be the subject, an adverb, or a whole subordinate clause
Second element: the verb
Then the subject (if it wasn’t first) and the rest

In your sentence:

First element: Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper (whole subordinate clause)
Second element (verb): ringer
Subject: vi
Object etc.: legen i morgen

So:
Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper, ringer vi legen i morgen.

If you start with the subject instead, then the subject is first and the verb is still second:

Vi ringer legen i morgen hvis tabletten ikke hjelper.

In English we say “we will call the doctor”. Why is there no “will” or “shall” in Norwegian?

Norwegian usually uses the present tense to talk about the future when it’s clear from context that the meaning is future:

Vi ringer legen i morgen.
Literally: We call the doctor tomorrow.
Meaning: We’ll call the doctor tomorrow.

You can use skal or vil for future, but they often add extra nuance:

Vi skal ringe legen i morgen.
= We’re going to call / We’re supposed to call (plan/intention, somewhat stronger)
Vi vil ringe legen i morgen.
= We want to call (more about willingness/desire; not just neutral future)

In neutral statements about what will happen, especially with a time expression like i morgen, the present tense is normal and natural.

Why is it tabletten and legen (definite form) and not en tablett and en lege?

Norwegian uses the definite form differently from English. Here’s why:

tabletten = the tablet
legen = the doctor

You use the definite when:

You and the listener both know which one you mean, or
It’s something that has already been introduced, or
It’s “the usual” one in that situation (e.g. your doctor).

In this sentence we usually imagine:

A specific tablet the person has already taken, and
Their doctor (their regular doctor or the one already mentioned).

So:

Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper
= If the tablet (we’re talking about) doesn’t help
ringer vi legen
= we call the doctor (we have in mind)

If you said en tablett or en lege, it would sound more like “a random tablet” or “some doctor (not a specific one)”, which doesn’t fit as well in this kind of context.

Why is it just ringer vi legen and not ringer vi til legen?

For calling someone on the phone, Norwegian normally uses ringe + person (direct object) without a preposition:

ringe legen = call the doctor (on the phone)
ringe mamma = call mom

til is used more for direction/movement:

gå til legen = go to the doctor (physically)
reise til Oslo = travel to Oslo

So ringer vi legen is the standard way to say “we call the doctor”. ringer vi til legen is grammatically possible in some dialects or special contexts, but in standard Bokmål it usually sounds odd or unnecessary for telephone calls.

Could I move i morgen in the sentence? For example: I morgen ringer vi legen hvis tabletten ikke hjelper?

Yes, i morgen is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper, ringer vi legen i morgen.
(Neutral; common word order.)
Vi ringer legen i morgen hvis tabletten ikke hjelper.
(Subject first; also neutral.)
I morgen ringer vi legen hvis tabletten ikke hjelper.
(Emphasizes tomorrow — that’s the first piece of information.)

Just remember:

In the main clause, the verb still has to be second:
- I morgen ringer vi legen ... (Not: I morgen vi ringer legen ...)

What’s the difference between hjelper and hjelpe?

They are different forms of the same verb:

å hjelpe = infinitive (“to help”)
hjelper = present tense (“help(s)” / “is helping” / “does help”)

In your sentence we need a present tense verb inside the hvis-clause:

Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper
= If the tablet does not help / doesn’t help

You cannot use the infinitive hjelpe there; it must be a conjugated verb form (hjelper).

Could I say Hvis tabletten ikke virker instead of hjelper? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say virker here, and it would be natural:

Hvis tabletten ikke hjelper, ringer vi legen i morgen.
Hvis tabletten ikke virker, ringer vi legen i morgen.

Both can be understood as “if the tablet doesn’t work / doesn’t help”.

Nuance:

hjelper focuses more on the effect for the person (“if it doesn’t help you/your condition”).
virker focuses more on whether the medicine functions as intended (“if it doesn’t have any effect”).

In many everyday contexts with medicine, people use both, and the difference is subtle.

Could I leave out vi and just say ringer legen i morgen?

No, you normally cannot drop the subject in Norwegian.

Norwegian is not a “pro-drop” language like Spanish or Italian. You usually must state the subject explicitly:

Vi ringer legen i morgen. ✓
Ringer legen i morgen. ✗ (feels like something is missing)

The only common exception is very informal notes or commands where the subject is understood:

Kommer snart. = (Jeg) kommer snart.
Ringer deg senere. = (Jeg) ringer deg senere.

But in a normal sentence like yours, you should keep the subject: vi.

Why is lege used and not doktor? Don’t they both mean “doctor”?

Both exist, but they are used differently:

lege is the standard Norwegian word for a medical doctor.
- legen = the doctor (physician)
doktor is more of a title or a broader term:
- People with a doctoral degree (PhD) can be called doktor.
- You also hear it in set phrases (e.g. tannlege vs tannlege-doktor in some dialects or jokingly).

In everyday modern Norwegian, if you mean “the doctor” (the person you go to when you’re ill), you normally say:

legen (definite form)

So ringer vi legen is the natural, idiomatic choice. ringer vi doktoren is possible but sounds either old-fashioned, dialectal, or stylistically marked.

How do you pronounce hjelper, especially the hj?

Key points for hjelper:

hj-: The h is silent. It’s pronounced like the English y in “yes”.
- So it starts like “yel-”, not “h-yel”.
-jel-: Similar to “yel” in English “yellow”, but with the e more like in “get”.
-per: The r is usually tapped or rolled (depending on dialect).

Approximate pronunciation (Bokmål / East Norwegian):
[ˈjɛlpər] — something like “YEL-per”, with the first syllable stressed.