A logical connector links one clause to another and names the relationship between them: cause (derfor — therefore), contrast (likevel — nevertheless), addition (dessuten — besides), or qualification (imidlertid — however). They are the words that turn a pile of sentences into an argument. The whole page hinges on one fact that English does not prepare you for: these connectors are adverbs, not conjunctions, and that grammatical category has a hard syntactic consequence — when one of them starts a clause, the clause inverts (verb before subject). English "therefore" and "however" keep ordinary subject-verb order, so this is one of the most stubborn advanced errors English speakers make. Get it right and your Norwegian instantly reads as fluent.
The connectors by meaning
| Relationship | Connectors | English |
|---|---|---|
| Cause / result | derfor, dermed, altså, da | therefore, thereby, so/thus, then |
| Contrast / concession | likevel, allikevel, imidlertid, derimot | nevertheless, however, on the other hand |
| Addition | dessuten, i tillegg, for øvrig | besides, in addition, incidentally |
| Alternative / condition | ellers | otherwise, or else |
A quick gloss on the trickier ones: dermed ("thereby / and so") marks a direct consequence of the immediately preceding action; altså ("so / in other words") draws a conclusion or restates; derimot ("on the other hand, by contrast") sets two things in opposition; for øvrig ("incidentally, by the way") tacks on a side remark; da here is the consequence-marking "then" ("if so, then…"), distinct from temporal da "when".
The one rule: a fronted connector inverts the clause
Norwegian main clauses obey the V2 rule — the finite verb must be the second element. These connectors are adverbs, so when one occupies the first position, it is the first element, the verb must come second, and the subject is therefore shoved into third place, after the verb. That is inversion.
Det regnet. Derfor ble vi hjemme.
It rained. So we stayed home.
Han var trett. Likevel jobbet han videre.
He was tired. Nevertheless he kept working.
Leiligheten er liten. Dessuten er den dyr.
The flat is small. Besides, it's expensive.
Skynd deg, ellers rekker vi ikke toget.
Hurry up, otherwise we won't catch the train.
In every one of those, read the verb-subject order: Derfor ble vi, Likevel jobbet han, Dessuten er den, ellers rekker vi. Verb first, subject second. There is no version of these with the subject in front of the verb.
Why English speakers get this wrong
English connectors are adverbs too — therefore, however, nevertheless, besides — but English does not invert after a fronted adverb. We comfortably say "Therefore we stayed home" with the subject first. So the English brain produces, by direct transfer, ❌ Derfor vi dro — and it sounds distinctly foreign to a Norwegian ear. The fix is not a vocabulary fix; it is retraining the reflex so that any connector at the front pulls the verb forward.
| English (no inversion) | Norwegian (inversion) |
|---|---|
| Therefore I left. | Derfor dro jeg. |
| However, she stayed. | Imidlertid ble hun. |
| Besides, it's expensive. | Dessuten er det dyrt. |
| Nevertheless, he came. | Likevel kom han. |
The crucial contrast: connector (adverb) vs. men (conjunction)
The cleanest way to lock the rule in is to compare two words that both translate the English "but / however" — men and likevel/imidlertid — and behave oppositely.
Men (and og, for, eller, så) is a coordinating conjunction. It sits outside the clause, in a slot of its own, and does not count as the first element — so the clause after it keeps normal subject-first order:
Han var trett, men han jobbet videre.
He was tired, but he kept working.
Likevel and imidlertid are adverbs. Each occupies position one inside the clause, so the clause inverts:
Han var trett. Likevel jobbet han videre.
He was tired. Nevertheless he kept working.
Han var trett. Imidlertid jobbet han videre.
He was tired. However, he kept working.
So the same idea — tiredness, yet continued work — produces men han jobbet (no inversion) but likevel jobbet han (inversion). The difference is purely grammatical category: conjunction vs. adverb. This is the exam-day distinction.
Connectors can also sit in the middle
A connector does not have to be fronted. Like other sentence adverbs, it can sit in the mid-field — after the finite verb in a main clause — and then, of course, there is no inversion question at all, because the subject already came first in the normal way:
Vi ble derfor hjemme hele kvelden.
We therefore stayed home all evening.
Den er dessuten altfor dyr for oss.
It's also far too expensive for us.
Han jobbet likevel videre til midnatt.
He nevertheless kept working until midnight.
Fronting the connector (Derfor ble vi…) foregrounds the logical link and is punchier; the mid-field version (Vi ble derfor…) is smoother and a touch more neutral. Both are fully correct; the choice is one of emphasis and rhythm.
In a subordinate clause, the connector — like ikke and the other sentence adverbs — goes before the finite verb:
Jeg vet at det dessuten blir dyrt.
I know that it'll also be expensive.
A natural worked example
Vi gledet oss til turen. Imidlertid ble flyet kansellert. Dermed mistet vi en hel dag. Likevel hadde vi en fin ferie.
We were looking forward to the trip. However, the flight was cancelled. As a result we lost a whole day. Nevertheless we had a lovely holiday.
Three fronted connectors in a row — Imidlertid, Dermed, Likevel — and every single one inverts: ble flyet, mistet vi, hadde vi. This is what fluent connected Norwegian prose looks like, and the inversions are not optional decoration; they are the grammar working correctly.
Register notes
- Imidlertid and for øvrig are noticeably formal/written — natural in essays, news and reports, slightly stiff in casual chat.
- Likevel and dessuten are register-neutral — fine everywhere.
- Allikevel is a common variant of likevel; both are standard, likevel a touch more frequent in writing.
- Derimot is neutral-to-formal and specifically marks a contrast between two things, not a general "but".
- Da as a consequence marker ("then, in that case") is everyday and conversational.
Common Mistakes
Not inverting after a fronted connector. The headline error.
❌ Derfor vi dro hjem tidlig.
Incorrect — connector in slot one forces inversion: Derfor dro vi hjem tidlig.
✅ Derfor dro vi hjem tidlig.
So we went home early.
Treating likevel/imidlertid like men and not inverting. They are adverbs, so they DO invert — unlike the conjunction men.
❌ Likevel han kom.
Incorrect — likevel is an adverb: Likevel kom han.
✅ Likevel kom han.
Nevertheless he came.
Inverting after the conjunction men. Men is a conjunction and keeps subject-first.
❌ Han var trett, men jobbet han videre.
Incorrect — men doesn't invert: men han jobbet videre.
✅ Han var trett, men han jobbet videre.
He was tired, but he kept working.
Using imidlertid in casual speech. It's a formal/written connector; in conversation men or likevel sounds more natural.
❌ Jeg er sulten. Imidlertid har vi ikke mat hjemme. (casual chat)
Register clash — imidlertid is formal/written; in speech use 'men vi har ikke mat hjemme'.
✅ Jeg er sulten, men vi har ikke mat hjemme.
I'm hungry, but we don't have food at home.
Key Takeaways
- Logical connectors (derfor, dermed, likevel, imidlertid, dessuten, i tillegg, derimot, ellers) are adverbs, not conjunctions.
- Fronted, they obey V2 and invert the clause: Derfor kom jeg, Likevel jobbet han — verb before subject.
- The decisive contrast: men (conjunction → no inversion) vs. likevel / imidlertid (adverb → inversion), both glossing English "but/however".
- Connectors can also sit mid-field (Vi ble derfor hjemme) with no inversion issue, and before the verb in subordinate clauses.
- Imidlertid and for øvrig are formal/written; likevel and dessuten are neutral.
Now practice Norwegian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Discourse Markers: OverviewB1 — A map of how Norwegian links sentences into coherent text and talk — connectors, sequencers, reference/anaphora, fillers and feedback — and the key insight that many Norwegian connectors are adverbs, so fronting them inverts the clause.
- Inversion: Fronting and Subject-Verb SwitchA1 — When any non-subject — a time word, an object, even a whole subordinate clause — is fronted into first position, V2 forces the subject to move behind the finite verb; English never does this, which makes it the signature learner error.
- Coordinating Conjunctions: men, eller, for, såA2 — How men (but), eller (or), for (for/because) and så (so) join equal clauses without disturbing word order, and why for is a coordinating 'because' that behaves nothing like the subordinating fordi.
- The V2 Rule: Verb SecondA1 — The single most important rule of Norwegian word order — in every declarative main clause the finite verb sits in second position, with exactly one constituent in front of it.
- Sentence Adverbs: kanskje, nok, vel, sikkertB1 — Modal/sentence adverbs that color a whole clause — kanskje, nok, vel, sikkert, visstnok, antakelig — their mid-field position, the -vis adverbs, and the famous quirk that fronted kanskje does NOT have to trigger V2 inversion.