Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg tar på meg et varmt skjerf fordi tåken gjør luften kald. - I put on a warm scarf because the fog makes the air cold.

Jeg means “I.” ta på seg is a multi-word verb meaning “to put on (clothing/accessories) on oneself.” Because the action is reflexive (“I put it on myself”), you use the reflexive pronoun meg after tar på, giving tar på meg = “put on myself.” Idiomatically, Jeg tar på meg et varmt skjerf = “I put on a warm scarf.”

Why is there an et before skjerf, and not en?

Norwegian nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Skjerf is neuter, so its indefinite singular article is et. A masculine word like hatt takes en hatt, and a feminine word like kjole often takes ei kjole (or en kjole in Bokmål).

Why does varmt end in “-t”?

Adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun they modify. For a neuter, indefinite singular noun like skjerf, you add “-t,” so varm → varmt. If it were common gender you’d say en varm jakke, and in plural you’d use varme skjerf.

What part of speech is fordi, and how does it affect word order?

Fordi is a subordinating conjunction meaning “because.” In Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by fordi, you still follow the verb-second (V2) rule internally: the subject (tåken) comes first, the verb (gjør) second, then the rest of the clause.

Why isn’t there a comma before fordi?

In Norwegian you generally omit commas before subordinate conjunctions like fordi. Commas are used sparingly and only inserted if they clarify meaning or prevent misreading.

Why is luften in the definite form instead of just luft?

Here you refer to the specific air around you (“the air”). To describe that particular air being cold, Norwegian uses the definite form luften. If you spoke about air in general as a substance, you could say luft, but when talking about the actual air you feel, you normally say luften.

Could you rephrase tåken gjør luften kald using bli instead of gjøre?

Yes. Instead of the causative construction “fog makes the air cold,” you can say “the air becomes cold.” For example:

fordi luften blir kald av tåken
or more naturally
fordi tåken gjør at luften blir kald

What’s the difference between for and fordi when both can mean “because”?

Fordi is a subordinating conjunction specifically used to introduce a because-clause. For can also mean “because,” but it is a coordinating conjunction (like “and” or “but”) and is less common in everyday speech. For doesn’t change word order and is more typical in written or formal style.

Why is the reflexive pronoun meg necessary? Can’t you just say Jeg tar på et varmt skjerf?

Without the reflexive pronoun (meg, seg, etc.), ta på means “put on” something onto someone or something else. To show you’re putting the scarf onto yourself, you need meg. Saying Jeg tar på et varmt skjerf sounds incomplete or like you’re about to put it on someone/something else.