Breakdown of På universitetet kan en studieveileder hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
Questions & Answers about På universitetet kan en studieveileder hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
In Norwegian, på is used with many institutions and workplaces when you mean “at” in a general sense:
- på universitetet = at the university (as an institution / environment)
- på skolen = at school
- på jobben = at work
- på sykehuset = at the hospital
I is more literal, like “inside the building”:
- i universitetet would sound like “inside the university building” and is unusual in this context.
You might also see ved universitetet (“at/by the university”) in more formal language, but på universitetet is the most natural everyday phrasing here.
Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb-second): the finite verb (here kan) must be in second position in the sentence, no matter what comes first.
In this sentence:
- På universitetet = first element (a prepositional phrase)
- kan = finite verb
- en studieveileder = subject
- hjelpe meg med å velge fag = rest of the predicate
If the sentence started with the subject instead, the verb would still be second:
- En studieveileder kan hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
En studieveileder means “a study adviser / student counsellor” in a non‑specific, generic sense — any adviser at the university.
- en studieveileder = a (non-specific) study adviser
- studieveilederen = the (specific) study adviser
In English you also say “a study adviser can help me”, not “the study adviser can help me”, unless you mean a particular person you both know.
If you were talking about a known, specific adviser, you could use the definite form:
- På universitetet kan studieveilederen hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
(“The study adviser can help me…” – a particular one already identified.)
No. Jeg is the subject form, but in this sentence you need the object form meg.
- jeg = I (subject)
- meg = me (object)
Structure here:
- Subject: en studieveileder
- Verb: kan hjelpe
- Object (person receiving help): meg
- Prepositional phrase: med å velge fag
So it has to be meg:
- På universitetet kan en studieveileder hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
Both are actually possible in modern Norwegian:
- hjelpe meg å velge fag
- hjelpe meg med å velge fag
Both mean roughly “help me (to) choose subjects”.
Some tendencies:
- hjelpe meg å + infinitive is common and correct.
- hjelpe meg med å + infinitive is also very common; many speakers like it because hjelpe med (“help with”) is a clear, fixed pattern, and å velge then attaches nicely after med.
Stylistically:
- hjelpe meg å velge feels slightly more compact.
- hjelpe meg med å velge can sound a bit more explicit or careful, especially in writing.
In your sentence, med å is completely natural.
Å is the infinitive marker, like “to” in “to choose”.
There are two infinitive verbs here:
- hjelpe – after the modal verb kan
- velge – after the preposition med
Rules:
Modal verbs (kan, vil, skal, må, bør, osv.) are followed by a bare infinitive (no å):
- kan hjelpe (not kan å hjelpe)
- skal studere
- må lese
After prepositions like med, an infinitive normally needs å:
- med å velge
- uten å forstå
- for å lære
So you get:
- kan hjelpe (modal + bare infinitive)
- med å velge (preposition + å + infinitive)
Here, fag means “subjects” or “courses” (university subjects you can choose).
It’s a neuter noun:
- Singular indefinite: et fag = a subject
- Singular definite: faget = the subject
- Plural indefinite: fag = subjects
- Plural definite: fagene = the subjects
In å velge fag, fag is plural indefinite:
you’re talking about choosing (some) subjects in general.
Because of the V2 rule: in a main clause, the finite verb must come second. When something else is put first, the subject has to move after the verb.
Word order:
- På universitetet = first element
- kan = finite verb
- en studieveileder = subject
- hjelpe meg med å velge fag = rest of the predicate
If you want the subject before the verb, you must also move the subject to the first position:
- En studieveileder kan hjelpe meg med å velge fag på universitetet.
Both versions are grammatical; they just differ in emphasis.
Yes, that is correct and natural:
- En studieveileder kan hjelpe meg med å velge fag på universitetet.
Nuance:
På universitetet kan en studieveileder hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
Slightly more emphasis on the place (“At the university, a study adviser can help me…”).En studieveileder kan hjelpe meg med å velge fag på universitetet.
More neutral; you first present a study adviser, then add where the help happens.
Both obey verb-second word order.
They express a similar idea but focus on different agents:
På universitetet kan en studieveileder hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
Focus: what the adviser can do.
“A study adviser can help me choose subjects.”På universitetet kan jeg få hjelp av en studieveileder til å velge fag.
Focus: what I can receive.
“I can get help from a study adviser to choose subjects.”
Both are grammatically fine; the original is a bit more direct (“the adviser helps”), the alternative emphasizes my possibility to receive help.
Yes, studieveileder is written as one compound noun, which is very typical in Norwegian.
Parts:
- studie = study (academic study)
- veileder = guide / adviser (from å veilede = to guide)
Together:
- en studieveileder = a study adviser / academic counsellor.
Norwegian usually writes such compounds as one word, not two:
studentrådgiver, kjøkkenbord, lærerjobb, etc.
The verb kan is the present tense form of å kunne (“can, to be able to”):
- jeg kan = I can / I am able to
- jeg kunne = I could / I was able to
Present tense here expresses a general possibility or typical situation, not just something happening right now:
- På universitetet kan en studieveileder hjelpe meg med å velge fag.
= At the university, it is generally true that a study adviser is able to help me choose subjects.