Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vennen min oppmuntrer og motiverer meg når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen. - My friend encourages and motivates me when I feel stressed by school.

Vennen min = the friend my
- This is the most neutral, everyday way to say “my friend” in Norwegian.
- Structure: venn (friend) + -en (the) + min (my).
Min venn = my friend
- Also correct, but it can sound a little more formal, emphatic, or stylistic.
- Often used in writing, speeches, or when addressing someone directly (“Min venn, hør på meg…”).

In your sentence, the natural, everyday choice is Vennen min.

What does the ending -en in vennen and skolen mean?

The ending -en is the definite article for masculine and some feminine nouns. It corresponds to English “the.”

venn = friend
venn
- -en → vennen = the friend
skole = school
skole
- -n (written -en because of spelling rules) → skolen = the school

So:

Vennen min literally: the friend my → “my friend”
skolen: the school

How would I say this if the friend is specifically female?

If you want to make it clear that the friend is a girl/woman, you can use venninne:

Venninnen min oppmuntrer og motiverer meg når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen.
= “My (female) friend encourages and motivates me when I feel stressed by school.”

Forms:

en venninne = a (female) friend
venninnen = the (female) friend
Venninnen min = my (female) friend

Using just venn is gender-neutral and very common; it does not say anything specific about gender.

Why is meg only written once in oppmuntrer og motiverer meg?

Because meg is the object of both verbs:

oppmuntrer (meg) = encourages (me)
motiverer meg = motivates me

Norwegian (like English) allows you to share the same object for two verbs:

Vennen min oppmuntrer og motiverer meg.
= My friend encourages and motivates me.

You could say:

Vennen min oppmuntrer meg og motiverer meg.

but it sounds unnecessarily repetitive unless you want to strongly emphasize each action. The original sentence is more natural.

Why do you say jeg føler meg stresset and not just jeg føler stresset?

In Norwegian, føle seg is a reflexive verb when you talk about how you feel:

å føle seg = to feel (in the sense of “to feel + adjective”: feel tired, feel happy)

So the pattern is:

jeg føler meg trøtt = I feel tired
jeg føler meg glad = I feel happy
jeg føler meg stresset = I feel stressed

You must use the reflexive pronoun that matches the subject:

jeg føler meg (I feel myself)
du føler deg (you feel yourself)
han/hun føler seg (he/she feels himself/herself)
etc.

Jeg føler stresset would mean something like “I feel the stress” (feeling it as a thing), which is not what you want here.

Could I say Jeg er stresset av skolen instead of jeg føler meg stresset av skolen?

Yes, you can. Both are correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

Jeg er stresset av skolen.
= I am stressed by school.
Sounds a bit more factual/state-like: my state is “stressed.”
Jeg føler meg stresset av skolen.
= I feel stressed by school.
Emphasizes the subjective feeling; how it feels from your perspective.

In everyday speech, Norwegians often just say:

Jeg er stresset på grunn av skolen.
Jeg er stressa på grunn av skolen. (colloquial, with stressa)

Your original version with føler meg is totally natural and correct.

What’s the difference between av skolen, på skolen, and på grunn av skolen?

They express different things:

av skolen
- Often indicates cause here: “because of school / by school.”
- stresset av skolen = stressed by school (school is what is causing the stress).
på grunn av skolen
- More explicit “because of”:
- Jeg er stresset på grunn av skolen.
  = I am stressed because of school.
- Slightly clearer and more common in everyday speech than av skolen for cause.
på skolen
- Refers to location: “at school.”
- Jeg er stresset på skolen.
  = I am stressed at school (when I am there), says where you’re stressed, not necessarily that school is the deeper cause.

In your sentence, av skolen is about cause, similar to “by/because of school.”

Why is it når jeg føler meg stresset and not da jeg føler meg stresset?

Norwegian distinguishes når and da more strictly than English “when”:

når
- Used for:
  - Present and future
  - Repeated / general situations
- Example: Når jeg føler meg stresset, ringer jeg en venn.
  = When(ever) I feel stressed, I call a friend.
da
- Used for single events in the past.
- Example: Da jeg følte meg stresset i går, ringte jeg en venn.
  = When I felt stressed yesterday, I called a friend.

Your sentence describes a general, repeated situation (what your friend does whenever you feel stressed), so når is correct.

Why is the word order når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen and not something like når jeg meg føler stresset?

In Norwegian subordinate clauses (clauses starting with når, at, fordi, etc.), the usual word order is:

[subordinating word] + [subject] + [verb] + (rest)

So:

når (subordinating word)
jeg (subject)
føler (verb)
meg stresset av skolen (rest)

→ når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen

Putting meg before føler (når jeg meg føler stresset) would break the normal word order and sound wrong to a native speaker.

Why is it skolen and not just skole here?

Norwegian often uses the definite form for institutions and activities that English treats more abstractly:

på skolen = at school
på jobb(en) = at work
på universitetet = at the university

In stresset av skolen, you’re stressed by “the school” as an institution/activity. Using skole without -n here (stresset av skole) sounds incomplete or unnatural in this context.

So:

skole = school (in general, the concept)
skolen = the school (here: school as something concrete in your life, your schooling)

Why do we use the present tense oppmuntrer og motiverer instead of something like “encourages and is motivating”?

Norwegian present tense (oppmuntrer, motiverer) covers:

Habitual actions
General truths
Ongoing actions (in many contexts)

So:

Vennen min oppmuntrer og motiverer meg når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen.
= My friend encourages and motivates me whenever I feel stressed by school.

You do not need an extra “is …ing” form in Norwegian.
There is no separate present continuous like English “is motivating” – the simple present motiverer does the job.

Can I drop the jeg in når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen?

No. In Norwegian you normally must include the subject pronoun:

når jeg føler meg stresset av skolen ✅
når føler meg stresset av skolen ❌

Unlike some languages (and very informal English), Norwegian does not usually allow the subject to be omitted. You should always say jeg, du, han, etc., when it’s the subject of the verb.