Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner, tror barna at de ikke kan overleve kvelden. - When the remote control disappears, the children think they cannot survive the evening.

Når is used for:
- Repeated / habitual events: Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner = Whenever the remote disappears
- General truths
- Future time
Da is used for:
- One specific event in the past:
  - Da fjernkontrollen forsvant, ble barna veldig sinte.
    When the remote disappeared (that time in the past), the children got very angry.

Here, the sentence describes a general pattern (what happens any time the remote is missing), so når is correct.
Using da would sound like you are referring to one particular evening in the past.

Why is the word order Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner (subject before verb) and not Når forsvinner fjernkontrollen?

In Norwegian:

Main clauses normally follow the V2 rule: the verb comes in second position.
Subordinate clauses (introduced by når, at, fordi, hvis etc.) do not use V2; instead, the typical order is:
- [Subjunction] + [Subject] + [Verb] + …

So:

Subordinate clause: Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner
- Når (subjunction) + fjernkontrollen (subject) + forsvinner (verb)

If you said Når forsvinner fjernkontrollen, that would be a main clause question:

Når forsvinner fjernkontrollen? = When does the remote disappear?

So the given sentence correctly uses subordinate-clause word order.

Why is the main clause tror barna and not barna tror?

The part Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner comes first. This whole subordinate clause counts as position 1 in the main clause.

Norwegian main clauses follow V2:

Some element (here: the whole Når… clause)
Finite verb
Subject (if it wasn’t already in position 1)

So after the Når-clause, the verb of the main clause must come next:

Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner, tror barna at …
- [1] Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner
- [2] tror (finite verb)
- [3] barna (subject)

If you remove the initial Når-clause, you would say:

Barna tror at de ikke kan overleve kvelden.

Then the subject barna can be in first position, and tror is still in second.

Why is it fjernkontrollen and not just fjernkontroll?

Norwegian usually uses the definite form when we talk about a specific, known thing, especially in a typical home context:

fjernkontroll = a remote control (indefinite)
fjernkontrollen = the remote control (definite)

Here, we’re clearly talking about the remote that belongs to the TV in that home, not just any remote control in the world. That’s why fjernkontrollen with the suffix -en (definite singular of an en-word) is used.

Why is it barna and not something like barnene?

Barn is an irregular noun in Norwegian:

Singular:
- et barn = a child
- barnet = the child
Plural:
- barn = children
- barna = the children

There is no form barnene in standard Norwegian.
So barna is the correct definite plural: the children.

What exactly does forsvinner mean here, and could I use blir borte or er borte instead?

Forsvinner comes from forsvinne and means:

to disappear, to vanish, to go missing

So fjernkontrollen forsvinner = the remote disappears / goes missing.

Alternatives:

blir borte
- Når fjernkontrollen blir borte …
- Very natural here. Literally when the remote becomes gone, but idiomatically: when the remote goes missing. Often slightly more colloquial.
er borte
- Når fjernkontrollen er borte …
- Focuses on the state of being gone rather than the act of disappearing.
- Meaning: When the remote is gone / missing (already).

The original forsvinner sounds a bit more like the moment of disappearance in general situations, but all three options can work, with small nuance differences.

Why is it tror and not tenker or synes?

Norwegian has several verbs that English often merges into think:

tro – believe that something is true (belief about facts, reality)
- Barna tror at de ikke kan overleve kvelden.
  The children believe (are convinced) they can’t survive the evening.
tenke – think in the sense of to be thinking / to have something on your mind / to plan
- Jeg tenker på deg. = I’m thinking of you.
- Jeg tenker å reise. = I’m planning to travel.
synes – think as in have an opinion
- Jeg synes filmen var bra. = I think (in my opinion) the movie was good.

In your sentence, we’re talking about what the children believe to be true, so tror is the correct choice.

How does the word order work in at de ikke kan overleve kvelden?

At de ikke kan overleve kvelden is a subordinate clause introduced by at (that).

Standard word order in such clauses is:

Subject + (negation/adverb) + Verb + …

Here we have:

de (subject)
ikke (negation)
kan (modal verb)
overleve (infinitive: to survive)
kvelden (object: the evening)

So the pattern is:

de
- ikke
  - kan
    - overleve kvelden

In a main clause with no fronted element, you’d say:

De kan ikke overleve kvelden.
(Verb in second position: de [subject] kan [verb] ikke …)

But after at, in a subordinate clause, ikke must come before the verb kan.

Could you drop at and just say tror barna de ikke kan overleve kvelden like in English "think they can’t survive"?

No, you normally cannot drop at the way English often drops that.

English: They think (that) they can’t survive the evening.
Norwegian: De tror at de ikke kan overleve kvelden.

In spoken Norwegian, at is sometimes pronounced very weakly, but grammatically it is still required here. Leaving it out would sound incorrect or at least very non‑standard.

Why is it kan overleve and not simply overlever?

The difference is similar to English:

overleve = to survive
overlever = survives (present tense)
kan overleve = can survive / be able to survive

Nuance:

Barna tror at de ikke overlever kvelden.
- The children think they don’t survive the evening.
- Grammatically okay, but a bit more like a factual prediction.
Barna tror at de ikke kan overleve kvelden.
- The children think they *can’t survive the evening.*
- Emphasizes their perceived ability (or inability) to get through it.
- This matches the exaggerated, dramatic feeling kids have when the remote is lost.

So kan overleve fits the meaning better.

Why is kvelden in the definite form? Could it be just kveld?

kveld = evening (indefinite)
kvelden = the evening (definite)

In expressions like:

overleve kvelden – to survive the evening / get through the evening
komme seg gjennom natta – get through the night

Norwegian typically uses the definite form when you refer to a particular time span that both speaker and listener understand from context (here: this/that evening they are living through).

Overleve kveld would sound unidiomatic. You almost always need kvelden in this kind of expression.

Why is the present tense forsvinner / tror / kan overleve used if this is about a general situation?

Norwegian uses the present tense for:

General truths
Habits and repeated events
Situations that are generally valid now

This is very similar to English:

English: When the remote disappears, the children think they can’t survive the evening.
Norwegian: Når fjernkontrollen forsvinner, tror barna at de ikke kan overleve kvelden.

So the present tense here describes what typically happens whenever that situation occurs, not a single event in the past.

What does overleve kvelden really mean here? Is it literal?

Literally:

overleve = to survive (not die)
overleve kvelden = to survive the evening

In context, it’s exaggeration / hyperbole, just like in English:

They think they can’t survive the evening =
They feel they won’t be able to get through the evening without the remote.

It expresses how dramatic the kids feel the situation is, not a real danger to their lives.