Breakdown of Det er klart at vi trenger mat.
være
to be
maten
the food
vi
we
trenge
to need
det
it
at
that
klar
clear
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Questions & Answers about Det er klart at vi trenger mat.
Why does the sentence start with Det er klart at instead of directly with Vi?
“Det er klart at…” is an impersonal construction meaning “it is clear that…”. It doesn’t focus on “we” or any specific subject. If you started with Vi er klare, you’d normally mean “we are ready,” which is a different idea altogether.
What does klart mean here? Isn’t klar usually “ready”?
In this phrase, klart means clear/obvious, not “ready.” Although å være klar can mean “to be ready,” here you’re talking about clarity.
Why is klart spelled with a -t at the end?
Because det is a neuter pronoun, and adjectives agree with gender in predicative use. The neuter form of klar is klart.
Do I need a comma before at?
No, commas before at are generally optional in Norwegian and often omitted, especially in straightforward subordinate clauses. Writing Det er klart at vi trenger mat without a comma is standard.
Can I drop at and say Det er klart vi trenger mat?
Yes. In spoken and informal written Norwegian, omitting at is common: Det er klart vi trenger mat. In formal contexts, however, it’s safer to include at.
Why is trenger not at the end of the clause like in German?
Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by at still follow the verb‐second (V2) rule. The conjunction at doesn’t count as position one, so vi stays in first position, trenger in second, then mat.
Why isn’t there an article before mat? Wouldn’t it be maten or en mat?
Here mat is an uncountable noun referring to food in general. Uncountable nouns typically don’t take an indefinite article. Maten would mean “the food” (a specific batch), and en mat isn’t used because mat is mass/uncountable.