Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret.

I save the sick note in a folder at the office.

Breakdown of Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret.

• jeg: I
• en: a
• i: in
• på: at
• kontoret: the office
• lagre: to save
• sykemeldingen: the sick leave
• mappen: the folder

Questions & Answers about Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret.

What exactly does lagrer mean here, and why isn’t there a separate form for “am storing” like in English?

Lagrer is the present tense of å lagre (“to store / to save”).

Norwegian doesn’t normally use a special continuous form (like English am storing). The simple present covers both:

• Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe.
  = I store / I am storing the sick note in a folder.

Context tells you whether it’s a one‑time action (right now) or a habitual action:

• One‑time (now): “I am storing the sick note in a folder at the office (right now).”
• Habitual: “I store the sick note in a folder at the office (that’s what I usually do).”

How is the verb å lagre conjugated?

Å lagre is a regular -e verb in Bokmål. Common forms:

• Infinitive: å lagre – to store/save
• Present: lagrer – store(s) / am, is, are storing
• Preterite (simple past): lagret – stored
• Present perfect: har lagret – have / has stored
• Past perfect: hadde lagret – had stored
• Future (with skal): skal lagre – will store
• Imperative: lagre! – store! / save!

Why is it sykemeldingen and not en sykemelding?

Norwegian marks definiteness with an ending instead of a separate article:

• en sykemelding – a sick note (indefinite)
• sykemeldingen – the sick note (definite)

Using sykemeldingen implies that both speaker and listener know which specific sick note is being stored (for example, the one they just talked about). If you said:

• Jeg lagrer en sykemelding i en mappe på kontoret.
  it would sound like you are introducing some random sick note, not a known one.

What gender is sykemelding, and how do I decline it?

Sykemelding is a masculine noun in Bokmål (though in many dialects you might hear it treated as feminine; standard grammar uses masculine).

Masculine declension:

• Indefinite singular: en sykemelding – a sick note
• Definite singular: sykemeldingen – the sick note
• Indefinite plural: sykemeldinger – sick notes
• Definite plural: sykemeldingene – the sick notes

I often see sykmelding instead of sykemelding. Is sykemeldingen spelled correctly?

Yes, sykemeldingen is accepted, but the official recommended Bokmål spelling is sykmelding (without the e after k).

So you will typically see:

• sykmelding / sykmeldingen (recommended)
• sykemelding / sykemeldingen (still allowed, but less preferred)

Meaning and usage are the same. Many people still write the longer form.

Why is it i en mappe but på kontoret? What’s the difference between i and på here?

• i literally means in / inside something:

  • i en mappe – in a folder (physically inside the folder)

• på is often used for:

  • surfaces: på bordet – on the table
  • some types of locations/institutions: på skolen, på jobben, på kontoret

På kontoret usually means at the office as a workplace, not focusing on being physically “inside a room” in a literal, spatial sense.

So:

• i en mappe – in a folder
• på kontoret – at (my/the) office

Could you say i kontoret instead of på kontoret?

You rarely say i kontoret.

• På kontoret = at the office (normal, idiomatic way; refers to your place of work).
• I kontoret would sound unusual and is only possible in very specific, physical, spatial contexts (e.g. contrasting inside vs. outside a particular office room), and even then Norwegians would often still say på kontoret.

For everyday use, always learn på kontoret = at the office.

Can I change the order and say Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen på kontoret i en mappe?

Yes, that’s grammatically correct, but the focus changes slightly.

• Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret.
  – Natural, neutral. The “in a folder” part is closely linked to the verb lagrer, and then you specify that this happens at the office.

• Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen på kontoret i en mappe.
  – Also possible, but sounds a bit more like you’re first stressing the place (at the office), then adding the detail in a folder. It’s still okay, just less neutral.

The original word order (i en mappe på kontoret) is the most typical.

Why does the object sykemeldingen come right after the verb in Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe? Could I say Jeg lagrer i en mappe sykemeldingen?

In Norwegian, the normal order is:

Subject – Verb – (short) Object – (other information like place/time)

So:

• Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret. ✅ (normal)

Putting the prepositional phrase before the object:

• Jeg lagrer i en mappe sykemeldingen. ❌

sounds very unnatural and is not standard word order.
You normally keep the direct object (sykemeldingen) close to the verb unless you have a strong reason to move it for emphasis (which is rare and sounds marked).

If I replace sykemeldingen with a pronoun, where does the pronoun go?

If you replace sykemeldingen with den (“it”), you get:

• Jeg lagrer den i en mappe på kontoret.

Notice:

• The object pronoun den comes immediately after the verb, before prepositional phrases like i en mappe or på kontoret.
• You do not say:
  
  • Jeg lagrer i en mappe den på kontoret. ❌

Basic pattern: Subject – Verb – Object pronoun – (other stuff)

Could I leave out jeg and just say Lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret?

In normal sentences, no. Norwegian almost always uses the subject pronoun; it does not usually drop the subject like Spanish or Italian.

• Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret. ✅
• Lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret. ❌ (sounds like a note fragment, not a full sentence)

You might see the subject omitted in:

• headlines: Lagrer sykemeldingen i mappe på kontoret
• bullet lists or notes to yourself

but in normal spoken and written Norwegian, include jeg.

Is lagrer used for both physical and digital storage, like “save a file” and “store a document in a folder”?

Yes. Å lagre is used for both:

• Physical:
  
  • Jeg lagrer sykemeldingen i en mappe på kontoret.
    – I store the sick note in a folder at the office.
• Digital:
  
  • Jeg lagrer dokumentet på PC-en.
    – I save the document on the computer.

Two common near-synonyms:

• å oppbevare – to keep/store (often about physical, longer-term keeping)
  
  • Jeg oppbevarer sykemeldingen i en mappe.
• å arkivere – to archive (more formal/administrative)
  
  • Jeg arkiverer sykemeldingen i en mappe.

Å lagre is the most neutral and versatile of the three.