Breakdown of Mange barn er redd for mørket, men de elsker sjokolade.
være
to be
barnet
the child
men
but
de
they
Questions & Answers about Mange barn er redd for mørket, men de elsker sjokolade.
Why do we say redd for mørket and not redd mørket?
Because the adjective redd (afraid) requires the preposition for (of) when you name what you’re afraid of. In Norwegian you always say redd for noe.
Why is mørket in the definite form (with -et)?
When you talk about a general concept like “darkness,” Norwegian often uses the definite form.
• mørke = darkness (indefinite)
• mørket = the darkness (definite)
After redd for, it’s common to use mørket to mean “the dark” in general.
What’s the difference between redd for mørket and redd i mørket?
• redd for mørket = afraid of the dark (you fear darkness itself)
• redd i mørket = afraid when you’re in the dark (you get scared in a dark place)
Why is there a comma before men (but)?
In Norwegian you generally put a comma before a coordinating conjunction like men, og or eller when the second clause has its own subject. Here the new subject is de, so you separate with a comma.