Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Han deltar frivillig på møtet. - He participates in the meeting voluntarily.

The infinitive (dictionary form) is å delta = to participate, to take part.
deltar is the present tense form:
- jeg deltar – I participate
- du deltar – you participate
- han/hun deltar – he/she participates
- vi deltar – we participate

Other main forms of delta:

å delta – to participate
deltar – (he) participates
deltok – (he) participated
har deltatt – has participated

Why is it på møtet and not i møtet or just møtet?

In Norwegian, å delta normally takes a preposition in front of the event:

delta på noe – participate in / attend something (an event, course, meeting, seminar)
delta i noe – participate in something (often more about the activity itself, like a discussion, project, competition)

With møte(t) (a meeting), both på møtet and i møtet can be heard, but:

på møtet is very common when you mean attend the meeting.
i møtet can sound a bit more like be actively involved in the meeting, inside the proceedings.

You cannot drop the preposition:

✗ Han deltar møtet – incorrect
✓ Han deltar på møtet – correct

Why is it møtet and not just møte?

Møte is a neuter noun (et møte = a meeting).

Norwegian distinguishes indefinite vs. definite by adding an ending:

et møte – a meeting (indefinite)
møtet – the meeting (definite)

In your sentence, we’re talking about a specific meeting (one both speaker and listener know about), so Norwegian uses the definite form:

Han deltar på møtet. – He is taking part in the meeting.

If it were about meetings in general, you’d use the indefinite or plural:

Han deltar ofte på møter. – He often attends meetings.

What grammatical gender and pattern does møte follow?

Møte is a neuter noun.

Its main forms are:

Indefinite singular: (et) møte – a meeting
Definite singular: møtet – the meeting
Indefinite plural: møter – meetings
Definite plural: møtene – the meetings

So the pattern is the regular neuter one:

et X – Xet – Xer – Xene
(e.g. et hus – huset – hus – husene; et kurs – kurset – kurs – kursene; et møte – møtet – møter – møtene)

What part of speech is frivillig here? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

In this sentence, frivillig is used adverbially – it describes how he participates: voluntarily.

Base meaning as an adjective:
- en frivillig avtale – a voluntary agreement
- en frivillig – a volunteer (as a noun: an unpaid helper)

But in Han deltar frivillig på møtet, it functions like an adverb, similar to English voluntarily, because it modifies the verb deltar (“participates”).

Norwegian often uses adjective forms adverbially without changing their form, so there’s no separate “adverb ending” here.

Can I change the word order, like Han deltar på møtet frivillig or Han frivillig deltar på møtet?

Norwegian main clauses use V2 word order: the finite verb must be in second position.

In your original sentence:

Han (subject) – deltar (verb, 2nd position) – frivillig – på møtet

Now your variants:

Han deltar på møtet frivillig.
- This is grammatically correct.
- It has a slightly different rhythm and puts more emphasis on frivillig by placing it at the end.
Han frivillig deltar på møtet.
- This breaks the V2 rule (the verb is no longer the second element), so it sounds wrong/unidiomatic in standard Norwegian.
- You should not put frivillig between the subject and the verb.

So acceptable variants include:

Han deltar frivillig på møtet. (neutral)
Han deltar på møtet frivillig. (end-focus on voluntarily)

But not:

✗ Han frivillig deltar på møtet.

Is there a difference between Han deltar frivillig på møtet and Han er frivillig på møtet?

Yes, they mean different things.

Han deltar frivillig på møtet.
- Focus: his choice.
- Means: He is participating in the meeting voluntarily / by choice (not forced).
Han er frivillig på møtet.
- Here frivillig is an adjective/noun meaning a volunteer (unpaid helper).
- Means more like: He is (there as) a volunteer at the meeting, i.e. his role is that of a volunteer (helping with practical tasks, etc.).

So:

deltar frivillig → how he participates (voluntarily)
er frivillig → what he is (a volunteer)

How do you pronounce the words in Han deltar frivillig på møtet?

Approximate Oslo / Eastern Norwegian pronunciations:

Han – [han]
- Roughly like English “hahn” (short “a” as in “father” but shorter).
deltar – [ˈdeːltɑr]
- de- like “day” but with a pure long e sound
- -ltar like “ltar” in “altar”, with a trilled/flapped r.
frivillig – [fɾiˈvilːi]
- fri- like English “free”
- -vil- like “vill” in “village”, with a double l (a bit longer)
- -lig roughly like “lee”.
på – [poː]
- Like “pô”, long o (similar to “paw” or “poe”).
møtet – [ˈmøːtə]
- mø- has the ø sound, something between English “uh” and “e” in “her” (but with rounded lips)
- -te like “tuh”
- The written final t in -et is usually silent here.

Whole sentence (roughly):

[han ˈdeːltɑr fɾiˈvilːi poː ˈmøːtə]

How would this sentence look in past or future tense?

Using å delta (present: deltar, past: deltok, perfect: har deltatt):

Present (now):
- Han deltar frivillig på møtet. – He participates voluntarily in the meeting.
Preterite / simple past:
- Han deltok frivillig på møtet. – He participated voluntarily in the meeting.
Present perfect (has done):
- Han har deltatt frivillig på møtet. – He has participated voluntarily in the meeting.
Future (with skal):
- Han skal delta frivillig på møtet. – He will participate voluntarily in the meeting.
Future (with kommer til å):
- Han kommer til å delta frivillig på møtet. – He is going to participate voluntarily in the meeting.

Could I use å være med instead of å delta here?

Often yes, especially in informal speech, but with slightly different nuance.

å delta (på noe) – to participate, often a bit more formal/neutral.
å være med (på noe) – to join in, to take part, often more colloquial.

You could say:

Han er med på møtet frivillig.
Han skal være med på møtet frivillig.

These are understandable and natural, but:

Han deltar frivillig på møtet sounds a bit more formal/precise, especially in written language or official contexts.

Can I omit på and say Han deltar møtet, like English “He attends the meeting”?

No. In Norwegian, delta requires a preposition before the thing you participate in.

✗ Han deltar møtet. – incorrect
✓ Han deltar på møtet. – correct

If you want a verb that can take the object directly (more like English “attend”), you could use:

Han besøker møtet. – He visits the meeting (specific nuance, not the usual way to say “attend”).
More idiomatic is still:
- Han deltar på møtet. – He attends / takes part in the meeting.

Does frivillig here mean he is unpaid like a volunteer, or just that it’s his choice?

In Han deltar frivillig på møtet, frivillig focuses on his choice:

It means “voluntarily / of his own free will”.
It does not necessarily say anything about payment.

To highlight the unpaid helper meaning, you’d typically use frivillig as a noun or adjective referring to his role:

Han er frivillig på møtet. – He is a volunteer at the meeting.
Han jobber som frivillig. – He works as a volunteer.

So:

deltar frivillig → he is choosing to participate.
er frivillig / en frivillig → he is a volunteer (usually unpaid).