Lesson goal
In this lesson, the student learns to form wh-questions with a question word and to follow the correct word order. The main goal is to confidently place the verb immediately after the question word and not move the subject to the first position.
New vocabulary
hva — what
hvor — where / to where
hvordan — how
hvorfor — why
når — when
hvem — who / whom
reise — travel / go
møte — meeting
starte — start / begin
bo — live
gjøre — do
lære — learn / study
nå — now
i helgene — on weekends
Useful phrases
Hvor bor du nå? — Where do you live now?
Hva gjør dere i helgene? — What do you do on weekends?
Når starter møtet? — When does the meeting start?
Hvorfor lærer hun norsk? — Why is she learning Norwegian?
Hvordan reiser dere til jobb? — How do you get to work?
Hvem møter du i byen? — Who are you meeting in the city?
Hvor jobber han nå? — Where does he work now?
Når reiser de hjem? — When are they going home?
Grammar
In questions with a question word, the question word comes first: hva, hvor, hvordan, hvorfor, når, hvem. It is usually followed immediately by the verb, and then by the subject: Hvor bor du?, Hva gjør dere?, Hvorfor lærer hun norsk? This is important: after the question word, Norwegian keeps the word order in which the finite verb comes before the subject. If the question word itself is the subject, the usual word order does not change: Hvem kommer i dag? — here hvem functions as the subject, so the verb follows it without any additional inversion. Adverbials of time, place, and other complements come after the subject or later in the sentence: Når starter møtet i dag?, Hvor bor du nå?
Examples
Hvor bor du nå? — Where do you live now?
Hva gjør dere i helgene? — What do you do on weekends?
Når starter møtet? — When does the meeting start?
Hvorfor lærer hun norsk? — Why is she learning Norwegian?
Hvordan reiser du til Oslo? — How are you traveling to Oslo?
Hvem møter dere etter jobb? — Who are you meeting after work?
Hvor jobber søsteren din? — Where does your sister work?
Når reiser han til Bergen? — When is he going to Bergen?
Hva lærer barna på skolen? — What are the children learning at school?
Hvordan starter møtet vanligvis? — How does the meeting usually start?
Hvorfor reiser de så tidlig? — Why are they leaving so early?
Hvem bor her nå? — Who lives here now?