Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Sokkene tørker raskt på radiatoren.

In Norwegian you mark definiteness by adding an ending. The indefinite plural of sokk (“sock”) is sokker, and the definite plural is sokkene. Here we talk about specific socks (e.g. the ones you just washed), so you use the definite sokkene.

What does tørker mean, and why does it end in -r?

Tørker is the present‐tense form of å tørke (“to dry”). Most Norwegian verbs that end in -e in the infinitive form simply add -r to make the present tense:
• å tørke → tørker
• å spise → spiser
• å snakke → snakker

Why is raskt used here instead of rask?

Rask is an adjective (“quick”), but when you want to describe how something happens, you need an adverb. In Norwegian many adverbs are formed by adding -t to the adjective:
• rask → raskt (“quickly”)
That’s why you say tørker raskt (“dry quickly”), not tørker rask.

Why do we use på to say “on the radiator”? Could we use i instead?

The preposition på is used when something is on a surface or a physical object. På radiatoren literally means “on the radiator.” Using i (“in”) wouldn’t make sense here—i radiatoren would mean “inside the radiator,” which is not what we intend.

Why is there no reflexive pronoun like “the socks dry themselves”?

In English you can say “the socks dry themselves,” but in Norwegian tørke is used intransitively for this meaning—you don’t add a reflexive pronoun. You simply say sokkene tørker.

Why is radiatoren singular definite instead of plural radiatorene?

Because the sentence refers to drying on one radiator, not many. The forms are:
• en radiator (indefinite singular)
• radiatoren (definite singular)
• radiatorer (indefinite plural)
• radiatorene (definite plural)

Since you’re talking about drying the socks on a specific radiator, you use radiatoren.

Is the word order always Subject–Verb–Adverb–Prepositional Phrase in Norwegian?

For a simple main clause it usually is, yes. Norwegian follows the V2 rule (verb-second), so with an unmarked subject you get:
Subject (S) – Verb (V) – Adverb (Adv) – Prepositional Phrase (PP)
Example here:
Sokkene (S) tørker (V) raskt (Adv) på radiatoren (PP).

How would I say “the socks dry more quickly” (i.e. comparatively)?

You form the comparative of adverbs by adding -ere:
raskt → raskere (“more quickly”)
So you could say Sokkene tørker raskere enn genserne (“The socks dry more quickly than the sweaters”).