Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Læreren prøver å motivere elevene før eksamen og oppmuntrer dem til å øve litt hver dag. - The teacher tries to motivate the students before the exam and encourages them to practice a little every day.

"før eksamen" literally is “before exam” but is normally understood as “before the exam” in context.
When you talk about something in a general, known context (like school exams, Christmas, vacation, work, etc.), Norwegian often leaves out the article:
- før eksamen – before the (upcoming) exam
- etter jobb – after (my/the) work
- i ferien / i ferie – in (the) holiday / on vacation

You could say "før eksamenen" if you mean one specific exam that has already been clearly identified, but "før eksamen" is more natural when talking in general about “the exam period / the upcoming exam” for the class.

Why do we say "Læreren" and "elevene" with endings, instead of just "lærer" and "elever"?

Those endings show the definite form (“the teacher”, “the students”).

lærer – a teacher
læreren – the teacher
elever – students
elevene – the students

Norwegian usually marks definiteness with an ending instead of a separate word the:

en lærer – a teacher
læreren – the teacher
elever – students
elevene – the students

So:

Læreren prøver … = The teacher is trying …
… å motivere elevene … = … to motivate the students …

You don’t say den læreren here; that would mean that teacher (over there) or that particular teacher, and sounds more specific or contrastive.

What is the function of "å" in "å motivere" and "å øve"?

"å" is the infinitive marker, similar to English “to” before a verb.

å motivere – to motivate
å øve – to practise

In this sentence:

prøver å motivere – tries to motivate
oppmuntrer dem til å øve – encourages them to practise

You use å + infinitive:

after many verbs: prøve å, glemme å, like å, slutte å
after some prepositions: til å, for å, uten å, etc.

So å here does not mean “to” (direction); it just marks the verb in infinitive form.

Why do some verbs end in -er (prøver, oppmuntrer) while øve doesn’t?

You’re seeing two different forms:

Present tense (conjugated verb): often -er
- prøver – tries / is trying
- oppmuntrer – encourages / is encouraging
Infinitive (dictionary form): often -e
- (å) prøve – to try
- (å) oppmuntre – to encourage
- (å) øve – to practise

In the sentence:

Læreren prøver – present tense (the main verb: is trying)
å motivere – infinitive (to motivate)
oppmuntrer – present tense (encourages)
dem til å øve – øve is infinitive (to practise)

So: finite verb in -er for present tense, -e after å to show the infinitive.

Why is it "dem" and not "de" in "oppmuntrer dem til å øve"?

The difference is subject vs. object:

de = they (subject form)
dem = them (object form)

In this sentence:

Læreren is the subject: The teacher
oppmuntrer is the verb: encourages
dem is the object: encourages them

So you need the object form:

Læreren oppmuntrer dem. – The teacher encourages them.

In spoken Norwegian, many people say “de” for both, but in standard written Bokmål, de is subject and dem is object.

Why do we need "til" in "oppmuntrer dem til å øve"? Why not just "oppmuntrer dem å øve"?

Many Norwegian verbs require a specific preposition before an infinitive phrase.
The pattern here is:

oppmuntre noen til å gjøre noe
= encourage someone to do something

So:

oppmuntrer dem til å øve
literally: encourages them to (towards) practising

You cannot say "oppmuntrer dem å øve" in standard Norwegian; it sounds ungrammatical.
You must include til with oppmuntre when it’s followed by an infinitive:

Læreren oppmuntrer dem til å lese mer. – encourages them to read more
Foreldrene oppmuntret henne til å søke på universitetet. – encouraged her to apply to university

What does "litt" add in "øve litt hver dag"? Can we leave it out?

"litt" means “a little / a bit” and softens the suggestion:

øve hver dag – practise every day (stronger, sounds like a clear rule)
øve litt hver dag – practise a little every day (more gentle and realistic)

So litt:

makes the amount sound small and manageable
makes the teacher’s suggestion sound encouraging rather than strict

You can leave it out grammatically:

oppmuntrer dem til å øve hver dag

But then the tone is a bit stricter and more like a routine or requirement, not just “do a little every day.”

Can we change the word order to "Læreren prøver å motivere før eksamen elevene"?

No. That word order is not natural Norwegian.

The normal order is:

[Subject] [Verb] [Rest] [Object] (for this kind of sentence)

So:

Læreren – subject
prøver – main (finite) verb
å motivere elevene før eksamen – infinitive phrase + object + time expression

You keep the object close to its verb:

å motivere elevene – to motivate the students

If you move elevene after før eksamen, it sounds wrong, because it splits the verb phrase in an unnatural way:

❌ å motivere før eksamen elevene
✅ å motivere elevene før eksamen

Time expressions like før eksamen are more flexible, but they usually come after the object in a sentence like this.

Why is the Norwegian present tense ("prøver", "oppmuntrer") translated as “is trying, is encouraging” in English?

Norwegian does not have a separate present continuous form like English “is trying”.
The simple present covers both:

Læreren prøver
can mean “The teacher tries” or “The teacher is trying”
Læreren oppmuntrer dem
can mean “The teacher encourages them” or “The teacher is encouraging them”

Which English tense you choose depends on context, not on a different form in Norwegian.

In this sentence, the context suggests an ongoing situation around exam time, so “is trying / is encouraging” sound most natural in English, even though Norwegian just uses prøver / oppmuntrer.