Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.

I feel weak in the morning.

Breakdown of Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.

• jeg: I
• morgenen: the morning
• meg: me
• føle: to feel
• om: in
• svak: weak

Questions & Answers about Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.

Why do we need meg after føler? Why can’t I just say Jeg føler svak om morgenen?

In Norwegian, when you talk about how you yourself feel physically or emotionally, you normally use a reflexive pronoun with å føle:

• Jeg føler meg svak. – I feel weak (myself).
• Han føler seg trøtt. – He feels tired (himself).

Without the reflexive pronoun, føle usually means:

• to feel / sense (something external)
  
  • Jeg føler kulden. – I feel the cold.
• to have an opinion
  
  • Jeg føler at dette er riktig. – I feel (think) that this is right.

So:

• Jeg føler meg svak. = I feel weak. (my state)
• Jeg føler svakhet. = I feel weakness. (I sense/experience weakness – more abstract and unusual in everyday speech)

Jeg føler svak om morgenen is ungrammatical; you must either use meg or have a proper object like svakhet.

What is the difference between Jeg føler meg svak and Jeg er svak?

Both are grammatically correct, but the meaning and nuance differ:

• Jeg føler meg svak.

  • Focuses on your subjective, temporary state.
  • Implies “Right now / in this period, I experience weakness.”

• Jeg er svak.

  • Sounds more like a general or permanent characteristic:
    
    • physically weak (e.g. because of illness or constitution), or
    • weak in character (morally/mentally weak), depending on context.

In English, this is similar to the difference between:

• I feel weak. (temporary state)
• I am weak. (more like a description of what kind of person you are)

So in the morning context, Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen is much more natural.

Why is it svak and not svakt? When do adjectives get a -t?

Here svak describes jeg (I), which is a person. In Norwegian:

• After er, blir, føler meg, etc., the adjective agrees with the subject:
  • Jeg er svak. – I am weak.
  • Hun er trøtt. – She is tired.
  • Vi er glade. – We are happy.

The -t ending is used for neuter singular nouns:

• et svakt barn – a weak child (neuter: et barn)
• et stort hus – a big house

But for jeg / du / han / hun / vi / dere / de, you don’t add -t:

• Jeg er svak.
• Du er trøtt.
• De er glade.

So Jeg føler meg svakt is wrong; it must be svak because it refers to jeg (a person, not a neuter noun).

Why is it om morgenen and not i morgenen or på morgenen?

For parts of the day in a general, habitual sense, Norwegian usually uses om:

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

So:

• Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.
  = I feel weak in the morning / in the mornings (as a general tendency).

i morgenen is not used.
på morgenen can appear in some dialects or contexts, but om morgenen is the standard and most typical for “(in) the morning (generally)”.

Why is it morgenen (definite) instead of just morgen?

Norwegian often uses the definite form of parts of the day when talking about them in a generic, habitual way:

• om morgenen – in the morning / in the mornings
• om kvelden – in the evening / in the evenings
• om natten – at night

This is similar to English phrases like:

• in *the morning* (generally)
• in *the evening*

Using the indefinite:

• om morgen – is unidiomatic / wrong here.

So the natural, idiomatic form is om morgenen (definite singular: the morning), even though English often drops “the” and just says “in the morning” or “in mornings”.

Can I say Jeg føler meg svak hver morgen instead of om morgenen? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are correct, but the nuance is a bit different:

• Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.

  • General habit: In the morning(s), I tend to feel weak.
  • Slightly more vague, about the time of day in general.

• Jeg føler meg svak hver morgen.

  • Every morning I feel weak – sounds more like each individual morning, without exception.
  • Emphasises repetition: every morning.

So om morgenen is more about that time of day as a period, while hver morgen highlights each separate day.

Can I change the word order to Om morgenen føler jeg meg svak?

Yes, absolutely. That is perfectly correct and natural:

• Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.
• Om morgenen føler jeg meg svak.

When you move a time expression (om morgenen) to the front, Norwegian requires verb-second word order:

• Om morgenen (1st element)
• føler (verb: 2nd position)
• jeg (subject)
• meg svak (rest of the sentence)

So you cannot say:

• *Om morgenen jeg føler meg svak. ✗ (wrong in standard Norwegian)

You must keep the verb in second position:
Om morgenen føler jeg meg svak. ✓

Why does meg come right after føler? Could I say Jeg føler svak meg?

Jeg føler svak meg is ungrammatical.

The normal order in a simple main clause is:

1. Subject: Jeg
2. Verb: føler
3. (Reflexive) object pronoun: meg
4. Adjective/complement: svak
5. Time adverbial: om morgenen

So:

• Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen.

You cannot move meg away from the verb like that in standard Norwegian. The reflexive pronoun meg belongs directly with the verb føler, so it stays close to it:

• Om morgenen føler jeg meg svak. (still: føler jeg meg together)

Is there any difference between Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen and using other words like trøtt, slapp, or dårlig?

Yes, different adjectives describe slightly different states:

• svak – weak, lacking strength (physically or sometimes mentally).
• trøtt – tired, sleepy, lacking sleep or energy.
• slapp – listless, limp, without energy, kind of “floppy” and unenergetic.
• dårlig – unwell, sick, or just “not good” (very broad).

Examples:

• Jeg føler meg svak om morgenen. – I feel physically weak in the morning.
• Jeg føler meg trøtt om morgenen. – I feel tired in the morning.
• Jeg føler meg slapp om morgenen. – I feel lethargic/without energy in the morning.
• Jeg føler meg dårlig om morgenen. – I feel unwell in the morning.

So svak focuses more on strength, while trøtt is more about sleepiness/fatigue, and dårlig is more about feeling ill or off.