Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hun sitter i en kontorstol med god ryggstøtte når hun jobber hjemme. - She sits in an office chair with good back support when she works from home.

Hun = she (subject form)
- Used when the person does the action.
- Example: Hun sitter. – She is sitting.
Henne = her (object form)
- Used when the person receives the action.
- Example: Jeg ser henne. – I see her.

In your sentence, she is the one performing the action of sitting and working, so you must use Hun (subject), not Henne (object).

Why is it «sitter» and not just «er» (is)?

Norwegian prefers a more specific verb for positions of the body:

sitter – is sitting
står – is standing
ligger – is lying

English often uses just “is”, but Norwegian usually uses these verbs to describe someone’s position.

So:

Hun sitter i en kontorstol.
literally: She sits in an office chair
and is normally translated: She is sitting in an office chair.

If you said Hun er i en kontorstol, it would sound odd or wrong in Norwegian; er is not used for physical sitting/standing/lying in this way.

Why is it «i en kontorstol» and not «på en kontorstol»?

Both i en stol and på en stol can be heard, but there is a nuance:

i = in
Used when you are inside or partly surrounded by something.
More typical with chairs that “enclose” you a bit (armchairs, car seats, etc.).
Example: Hun sitter i en lenestol. – She is sitting in an armchair.
på = on
Used more generally for surfaces or simple chairs.
Example: Hun sitter på en stol. – She is sitting on a chair.

With kontorstol (office chair), many people would say på en kontorstol, but i en kontorstol is also possible and emphasizes being seated “in” the chair with back support. It’s a style and nuance choice; both are understandable.

What does «kontorstol» literally mean, and how is this kind of word formed?

Kontorstol is a compound noun, made from two nouns:

kontor = office
stol = chair

Together: kontorstol = office chair.

Norwegian very often joins nouns into one long word:

kontor
- stol → kontorstol
sommer
- ferie → sommerferie (summer holiday)
barne
- bok → barnebok (children’s book)

Grammar for kontorstol:

Gender: masculine (common gender)
Indefinite singular: en kontorstol
Definite singular: kontorstolen
Indefinite plural: kontorstoler
Definite plural: kontorstolene

Why is it «en kontorstol» and not «et kontorstol»?

Norwegian has three grammatical genders:

en = masculine (common gender)
ei = feminine (also common gender; optional in standard Bokmål)
et = neuter

The noun stol (chair) is masculine, and so is kontorstol, so it takes en:

en stol / en kontorstol

You only use et with neuter nouns, like:

et hus – a house
et bord – a table

So et kontorstol is grammatically wrong.

What does «med god ryggstøtte» mean literally, and why is «med» used?

Literally:

med = with
god = good
ryggstøtte = back support

So med god ryggstøtte = with good back support.

The preposition med is used very often to express “having” a characteristic:

en stol med armlener – a chair with armrests
et hus med hage – a house with a garden

You could also say:

en kontorstol som har god ryggstøtte – an office chair that has good back support

…but med god ryggstøtte is shorter and very natural in Norwegian.

What kind of word is «ryggstøtte», and how is it formed?

Ryggstøtte is another compound noun:

rygg = back (body part)
støtte = support

Together: ryggstøtte = back support.

Grammar:

Gender: usually treated as masculine or feminine (both are acceptable in Bokmål)
- en ryggstøtte / ei ryggstøtte
Definite singular: ryggstøtten
Indefinite plural: ryggstøtter
Definite plural: ryggstøttene

In the phrase god ryggstøtte, the noun is indefinite singular, so there is no article, just good back support in general.

Why is it «god ryggstøtte» and not «godt ryggstøtte»?

Adjectives in Norwegian change form depending on the noun’s gender and number.

Basic pattern (before an indefinite noun):

Masculine / feminine: god stol, god bok
Neuter: godt hus
Plural: gode stoler

Since ryggstøtte is masculine or feminine, the correct form is:

god ryggstøtte, not godt ryggstøtte

If the noun were neuter, you’d use godt:

et godt råd – good advice
et godt sete – a good seat

What is the function of «når» in «når hun jobber hjemme»?

Når here is a subordinating conjunction meaning “when” (in the sense of whenever / every time or when this happens).

It introduces a time clause:

når hun jobber hjemme = when she works at home / when she works from home

This whole clause explains under what condition / at what time she sits in the office chair.

Norwegian word order rule: after når, the verb does not have to be in the second position like in a main clause; it comes after the subject:

Når hun jobber hjemme, sitter hun i en kontorstol …
Subject (hun) + verb (jobber) is the normal subordinate-clause order.

Why is «jobber» in the present tense, not some future or conditional form?

Norwegian often uses the simple present for:

Habits / routines
- Hun sitter i en kontorstol … når hun jobber hjemme.
  = Whenever she works from home, she sits in an office chair with good back support.
General truths / typical situations

This is similar to English:

She sits in an office chair when she works from home.

Even though the English sentence might sometimes describe future or repeated situations, both languages use present tense for that habitual meaning.

So jobber = works / is working, and in this context it’s understood as a repeated or typical situation.

What is the difference between «hjemme» and «hjem», and why is it «jobber hjemme» here?

The two adverbs are related but different:

hjemme = at home (location, where)
- Hun er hjemme. – She is at home.
- Hun jobber hjemme. – She works at home / from home.
hjem = home (direction, to where)
- Hun går hjem. – She is going home.
- Hun drar hjem tidlig. – She goes home early.

In your sentence we are talking about where she works (location), so hjemme is correct:

når hun jobber hjemme – when she works at home

Is the word order «Hun sitter … når hun jobber hjemme» fixed, or can it be changed?

You can change the order of the main clause and the subordinate clause.

Both of these are correct:

Hun sitter i en kontorstol med god ryggstøtte når hun jobber hjemme.
Når hun jobber hjemme, sitter hun i en kontorstol med god ryggstøtte.

Important points:

In the subordinate clause with når, normal order is:
- subject + verb
- når hun jobber hjemme
In the main clause, Norwegian usually has verb in second position (V2 rule):
- Version 1: Hun (1) sitter (2) i en kontorstol …
- Version 2: Når hun jobber hjemme (1), sitter (2) hun i en kontorstol …

So yes, you can put the når-clause first, but then the main verb of the main clause must still be in second position.

Could I say «Hun arbeider hjemme» instead of «Hun jobber hjemme»? Is there a difference?

Both are correct, but they differ in style and frequency:

jobber
- Very common in everyday spoken Norwegian.
- Neutral, informal-to-neutral style.
- Hun jobber hjemme. – She works from home.
arbeider
- Slightly more formal or “bookish”.
- Often used in written language, official contexts, or set phrases.
- Hun arbeider hjemme. – Also “She works from home.”

In most modern spoken Norwegian you’ll hear jobber more often, so Hun jobber hjemme sounds very natural and typical.