Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.

I want to exercise more often in the morning.

Breakdown of Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.

• jeg: I
• morgenen: the morning
• trene: to exercise
• om: in
• ville: want
• oftere: more often

Questions & Answers about Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.

What exactly does vil mean here? Is it “want to” or “will”, and how is it different from skal?

In this sentence vil most naturally means “want to”:

• Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.
  = I want to work out more often in the morning.

Vil can sometimes be translated as will in English, but in Norwegian it usually expresses desire/intention, not a neutral future tense.

Comparison with skal:

• Jeg vil trene.
  = I want to work out. (desire)

• Jeg skal trene.
  = I’m going to work out / I will work out. (plan, arrangement, obligation)

So in your sentence, vil emphasizes what you want, not a fixed future plan.

Why is there no å before trene? I thought infinitives usually have å.

You’re right that infinitives often use å, like:

• å trene – to work out

However, Norwegian modal verbs are different. After these verbs, you normally do not use å:

Common modals:

• vil (want to)
• skal (shall / going to)
• kan (can)
• må (must, have to)
• bør (should)

So you say:

• Jeg vil trene. (not Jeg vil å trene.)*
• Jeg kan svømme. (not Jeg kan å svømme.)*
• Jeg må gjøre lekser.

So the pattern is: modal + bare infinitive (no å).

Why is it trene and not trener?

Trene is the infinitive form, and trener is the present tense.

After a modal verb like vil, you must use the infinitive:

• Jeg trener. – I work out / I am working out. (no modal)
• Jeg vil trene. – I want to work out. (modal + infinitive)

So:

• Jeg vil trene = I want to work out
• Jeg trener = I work out / I’m working out

You can’t mix them as vil trener; that’s ungrammatical.

Why is oftere placed after trene? Can I move oftere to other positions?

In Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen, oftere modifies trene and is placed right after the verb phrase.

This is a very natural position, but you can move it, with slight changes in emphasis:

1. Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.

   • Neutral, very natural.

2. Jeg vil oftere trene om morgenen.

   • Also possible; sounds a bit more formal or stylistic.
   • Emphasis: the frequency of training in the morning.

3. Jeg vil trene om morgenen oftere.

   • Grammatically possible, but can sound a bit clumsy; Norwegian usually puts frequency adverbs before or close after the main verb.

In everyday speech, version 1 is by far the most typical.

Can I say mer ofte instead of oftere?

Native speakers almost always use oftere, not mer ofte.

• ofte – often
• oftere – more often (comparative)
• oftest – most often (superlative)

Mer ofte is not strictly wrong, but it sounds unnatural or foreign-influenced in most contexts. So you should learn oftere as the normal comparative form.

Examples:

• Jeg vil trene oftere. – I want to work out more often.
• Han ringer oftere nå enn før. – He calls more often now than before.

What does om mean in om morgenen? Why not i or på?

In time expressions, om can mean “in / during / at (a part of the day, generally)”.

• om morgenen – in the morning(s)
• om kvelden – in the evening(s)
• om natten – at night

Using i or på here would sound wrong or very unusual:

• ✗ i morgenen – incorrect as a time expression
• ✗ på morgenen – possible in some dialects but much less standard than om morgenen

For talking about habitual actions in parts of the day, the natural standard choices are:

• om morgenen, om dagen, om kvelden, om natten

Why is it morgenen and not just morgen?

Morgenen is the definite form: the morning.
Morgen is the indefinite: a morning / (just) morning.

Norwegian often uses the definite form in generic time expressions:

• om morgenen – in the morning(s) (as a general routine time)
• om kvelden – in the evening(s)
• på sommeren – in (the) summer

So even though in English we say “in the morning” or “in the mornings”, in Norwegian you typically say om morgenen with the definite ending -en.

Is there a difference between om morgenen and om morgenene?

Yes:

• om morgenen – literally “in the morning”, but used to mean “in the morning (in general, as a normal time of day)” or “in the mornings” as a habit.

• om morgenene – literally “in the mornings” (plural definite).
  This is grammatically correct but used much less; many people rarely say it.

For expressing a regular habit, om morgenen is the standard and most natural way:

• Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.
  = I want to work out more often in the morning / in the mornings.

You usually don’t need the plural form in this type of sentence.

Can I move om morgenen to the beginning of the sentence? How does that affect word order?

Yes, and this is a very typical Norwegian pattern:

• Om morgenen vil jeg trene oftere.

Norwegian has V2 word order in main clauses: the finite verb (here: vil) must be in second position.

Positions in the original:

1. Jeg (subject)
2. vil (finite verb)
3. trene (infinitive)
4. oftere om morgenen (adverbials)

If you move om morgenen to the front, it occupies position 1, so the verb still has to be second:

1. Om morgenen (time phrase)
2. vil (finite verb)
3. jeg (subject)
4. trene oftere (rest)

You cannot say:

• ✗ Om morgenen jeg vil trene oftere. (wrong word order)

Correct:

• Om morgenen vil jeg trene oftere.

Could I say Jeg skal trene oftere om morgenen instead? What’s the difference from vil?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct:

• Jeg skal trene oftere om morgenen.

Difference:

• vil = focuses on desire / wish

  • I want to work out more often in the morning.

• skal = focuses on plan / intention / obligation

  • I’m going to work out more often in the morning.
  • I will (for sure / as a plan) work out more often in the morning.

So:

• Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen. – You want to do it.
• Jeg skal trene oftere om morgenen. – You present it more as a firm decision or plan.

The English version uses “will” for the future. Why is Norwegian using present forms like vil and trene instead of a future tense?

Norwegian does not have a separate future tense like English “will + verb”.

Instead, future meaning is usually expressed by:

1. Present tense alone, with a future time adverb:

   • Jeg trener i morgen. – I’m working out tomorrow.
   • Han kommer neste uke. – He comes / is coming next week.

2. Modal verbs like skal and vil:

   • Jeg skal trene i morgen. – I’m going to work out tomorrow.
   • Jeg vil trene mer. – I want to work out more.

Your sentence focuses on desire/habit more than pure future, so vil + infinitive is natural:

• Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.
  = literally I want to train more often in the morning (in general / from now on).

How do you pronounce trene and morgenen?

Approximate pronunciation (in a common Eastern accent):

• trene: ["treː-ne]

  • tr- like English tr in train
  • e like “eh” (but longer in the first syllable)
  • Stress on the first syllable: TRÉ-ne

• morgenen: ["mɔʁ-ə-nən] (often sounds like “MORR-eh-nen”)

  • mor- with an open o (like British o in not, but a bit rounder)
  • -gen- often reduced; the g may be very soft or almost silent in fast speech
  • Stress on the first syllable: MOR-gen-en (but the last two vowels can blur together)

Spoken quickly, om morgenen can sound like “om morr’n” in informal speech.