Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg leser bare sladder på nettet når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg. - I only read gossip online when I am too tired to concentrate.

In Norwegian, bare usually comes right before the word or phrase it limits. Here, it limits sladder (the thing you read), so it goes before sladder:

Jeg leser bare sladder
= I read only gossip (not news, novels, etc.)

Compare:

Jeg bare leser sladder.
Often understood as: All I do is read gossip (I don’t do other things).
Jeg leser sladder bare på nettet.
= I read gossip only on the internet (not in magazines, etc.).

So the word order with bare changes what is being restricted: the activity itself, the object, or the location/time.

What exactly does sladder mean, and why is there no article (like “en” or “noe”)?

Sladder means gossip – people talking about others, often trivial or private things.

Grammatically:

Gender: It is a mass noun (uncountable), usually treated as masculine or feminine, but in practice it’s almost always used without an article when you mean gossip in general.
No article is used because we’re not talking about one piece of gossip but gossip as a general substance or activity, like water, coffee, music.

So:

Jeg leser sladder.
= I read gossip.
You normally don’t say: Jeg leser en sladder. (unnatural)

You can qualify it, though:

Jeg leser bare kjendis-sladder.
= I only read celebrity gossip.

Why is it på nettet and not something like i nettet or på internett?

På nettet literally means on the net, and idiomatically on the internet / online.

på nettet = on the (world wide) web, online.
på internett also exists and is understood, but på nettet is very common and sounds very natural in everyday speech.
i nettet would literally mean in the net (like in a fishing net or a goal net), and is not used for the internet.

So the natural phrase for “on the internet” in this context is:

på nettet = online / on the internet

Why is it når jeg er for trøtt and not da jeg er for trøtt?

Norwegian makes a clear distinction between når and da in time clauses:

når = when in general, repeated or generic situations, or future times.
da = when referring to one specific event in the past.

In the sentence:

… når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg.
= when I’m (too) tired to concentrate

This describes a repeated habit: whenever I happen to be too tired. That’s why når is correct.

Examples:

Jeg leser bare sladder på nettet når jeg er for trøtt.
(Every time this happens, as a habit.)
Da jeg var for trøtt i går, leste jeg bare sladder på nettet.
(One specific time in the past: When I was too tired yesterday…)

What does the structure for trøtt til å … mean?

For trøtt til å + infinitive means too tired to + verb.

Breakdown:

for = too (in the sense of excessively)
trøtt = tired
til å konsentrere meg = to concentrate

So:

for + adjective + til å + infinitive
= too + adjective + to + verb

More examples:

for liten til å forstå
= too small/young to understand
for tung til å bære
= too heavy to carry
for dyr til å kjøpe
= too expensive to buy

In the original sentence:

når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg
= when I’m too tired to concentrate (at all / properly)

Why do we say konsentrere meg and not just konsentrere?

The verb å konsentrere seg is reflexive in Norwegian when it means to concentrate (one’s mind).

å konsentrere seg = to concentrate
seg is a reflexive pronoun, which must agree with the subject.

So you must add the correct reflexive pronoun:

jeg konsentrerer meg (I concentrate)
du konsentrerer deg (you concentrate)
han/hun/det konsentrerer seg (he/she/it concentrates)
vi konsentrerer oss (we concentrate)
dere konsentrerer dere (you plural concentrate)
de konsentrerer seg (they concentrate)

In the infinitive construction:

å konsentrere meg (to concentrate – I am the one concentrating)
å konsentrere seg (generic “one”, or used with han/hun/de etc.)

So:

når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg
= when I’m too tired to concentrate (myself)

Could the sentence be … for trøtt til å konsentrere meg selv? Is meg selv ever used?

You could say konsentrere meg selv, but in this meaning it’s not natural and sounds foreign.

å konsentrere seg already contains the reflexive idea (“oneself”), so adding selv is redundant.

Meg selv is used when you want to emphasize myself specifically or use a non-reflexive verb reflexively:

Jeg ser meg selv i speilet.
= I see myself in the mirror.
Jeg må passe på meg selv.
= I have to take care of myself.

But with verbs that are already reflexive by default (like konsentrere seg, skynde seg, bestemme seg), you normally don’t add selv:

riktig: Jeg prøver å konsentrere meg.
sounds odd: Jeg prøver å konsentrere meg selv.

Why is leser (present tense) used, even though this describes a more general habit?

Norwegian uses the simple present tense for:

actions happening right now, and
habits, routines, and general truths

So:

Jeg leser bare sladder på nettet når jeg er for trøtt …
= I read / only read gossip online when I’m too tired …

This is a habit: something you usually do in that situation. That’s why present tense (leser) is correct and normal.

More examples:

Jeg drikker kaffe hver morgen.
= I drink coffee every morning.
Hun trener ofte etter jobb.
= She often works out after work.

You only need other tenses when you clearly refer to a specific past or future time:

I går leste jeg bare sladder på nettet.
= Yesterday I only read gossip online.
I kveld skal jeg bare lese sladder på nettet.
= Tonight I’m only going to read gossip online.

Can I move bare to other positions, and how does the meaning change?

Yes, moving bare changes what is limited:

Jeg leser bare sladder på nettet når jeg er for trøtt …
→ I only read gossip online when I’m too tired.
(Not news, not articles, only gossip.)
Jeg bare leser sladder på nettet når jeg er for trøtt …
Often understood as:
→ I just read gossip online when I’m too tired (and don’t do anything else).
Focus more on the activity as the only thing you do.
Jeg leser sladder bare på nettet når jeg er for trøtt …
→ I read gossip only on the internet when I’m too tired.
(Implies you might read gossip in other places at other times.)

Native speakers will hear a difference mostly in what is excluded:

only the type of content,
only the activity, or
only the place/time.

Could I start the sentence with the time clause: Når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg, …? Does word order change?

Yes, that’s perfectly natural and common:

Når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg, leser jeg bare sladder på nettet.

Two things happen:

The time clause comes first: Når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg
The main clause follows, and because the sentence starts with something other than the subject, we use inverted word order in the main clause:
- normal order: Jeg leser bare sladder på nettet.
- after fronted element: … leser jeg bare sladder på nettet.

This inversion (verb before subject) is standard in Norwegian main clauses when you put a time/place element first.

How would I say “when I’m too tired to concentrate on anything else” in Norwegian?

You can extend the original structure like this:

Jeg leser bare sladder på nettet når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg om noe annet.

Breakdown:

konsentrere meg om noe annet
= concentrate on anything else / something else

Other natural variants:

… når jeg er for trøtt til å fokusere på noe annet.
… når jeg er for trøtt til å konsentrere meg om noe som helst annet.
(= when I’m too tired to concentrate on anything at all.)