Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.

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Breakdown of Jeg vil trene oftere om morgenen.

• morgenen: the morning
• trene: to exercise
• om: in

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).