Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Batteriene lades raskere hvis luften er varm og tørr. - The batteries charge faster if the air is warm and dry.

lades is the present passive of lade (“to charge”). It literally means “is being charged.” In Norwegian you form the passive by adding an -s to the infinitive: lade → lades. Here it’s used because the batteries (the subject) are receiving the action.

Why isn’t the particle opp included (i.e., why not lades opp)?

The active verb lade opp (“to charge up”) is separable, but in the passive you can drop the particle opp. The shorter passive lades already carries the meaning “is being charged.” In technical language you often see simply lades rather than lades opp.

Is raskere an adjective or an adverb here? How is its comparative form created?

In this sentence raskere functions as an adverb modifying lades (“are charged faster”). The comparative of the adjective rask (“fast”) is formed by adding -ere: rask → raskere (“faster”). Short adjectives (one or two syllables) use -ere; longer ones use mer + adjective.

Why isn’t there an enn after raskere, like in English “faster than”?

In Norwegian you only use enn when you compare two specific things (e.g. raskere enn bilen). Here raskere simply means “more quickly” without stating a second object of comparison, so no enn is needed.

What does hvis mean, and could I use når instead?

hvis means “if” and introduces a conditional clause (“in the case that…”). når means “when” and is used for events that regularly happen or are certain to happen. You could say når luften er varm og tørr if you mean “whenever the air is warm and dry,” but hvis is correct for a simple condition.

Why is luften in the definite form, and could it be indefinite?

luften is the definite form of luft (“air”), so it means “the air.” It’s definite because we’re talking about the ambient/surrounding air in general. You could use an indefinite phrase like i varm og tørr luft (“in warm and dry air”), but luften sounds more natural for a general statement.

Why do varm and tørr not take the -t ending (i.e., why not varmt and tørt)?

After copular verbs like er, predicative adjectives agree in gender only for neuter nouns. luft is common gender, so you use the bare form varm and tørr. If it were a neuter noun (e.g. vann), you’d say vannet er kaldt.

How does the verb-second (V2) word order work in the main clause and in the hvis clause?

In the main clause Batteriene lades raskere, the finite verb lades comes in second position (after the subject), following the V2 rule. In the subordinate clause hvis luften er varm og tørr, the subordinating conjunction hvis is first, so er still appears in second position (after luften), preserving the V2 structure.