Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Barna tror at spøkelset hverken er farlig eller trist. - The children think that the ghost is neither dangerous nor sad.

at is a subordinating conjunction introducing a subordinate clause (“that the ghost…”). In English, it corresponds to that and is required after verbs like tror, vet, håper, etc., when they are followed by a clause.

How does hverken … eller work? Can I use verken … eller instead?

hverken … eller translates to neither … nor. Place hverken before the first element you want to negate and eller before the second. verken … eller is an equally correct variant; both forms mean the same, though hverken is slightly more common in writing.

Why is it spøkelset instead of et spøkelse?

spøkelse is a neuter noun.
• et spøkelse = “a ghost” (indefinite)
• spøkelset = “the ghost” (definite, formed by adding the suffix -et)

Why do the adjectives farlig and trist have no endings here?

These adjectives are used predicatively (after er), and predicative adjectives in Norwegian generally remain in their base form. Only some adjectives get a -t in neuter singular (e.g. stor → stort), but farlig and trist are invariable.

Why is the word order spøkelset hverken er farlig eller trist? Does the verb move to the end like in German?

In Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by a conjunction like at, the normal Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order applies (unlike German). So you have spøkelset (S) – er (V) – farlig (O). The negation adverb hverken is placed immediately before the verb.

Why isn’t there a comma before at spøkelset …?

Contemporary Norwegian usually omits commas before subordinate clauses introduced by at, hvis, om, etc., unless you need one for clarity or to avoid confusion.

What gender is spøkelse, and how can I tell?

spøkelse is a neuter noun. A handy tip is that many Norwegian nouns ending in -e are neuter (though there are exceptions). Neuter nouns use et in the indefinite singular and add -et for the definite singular.

Why is barn pluralized as barna instead of barnene?

barn is an irregular neuter noun that has the same form in singular and plural (no -er). The definite plural is formed by adding -a:
• barn (children)
• barna (the children)

Can tror mean both think and believe?

Yes. In Norwegian, tror covers both “think” and “believe” when expressing an opinion or belief. If you want to emphasize a reasoned or argued opinion, you can also use mener, but tror is the general verb for both senses.