Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Læreren forklarer at anonymitet og personvern er viktig når vi svarer på spørreskjemaet. - The teacher explains that anonymity and privacy are important when we answer the questionnaire.

Norwegian only has one present-tense form; it covers both English explains and is explaining. So Læreren forklarer … can mean either The teacher explains… or The teacher is explaining…, depending on context.

Why is it anonymitet og personvern without any articles?

Anonymitet (anonymity) and personvern (privacy, protection of personal data) are abstract, uncountable nouns here. In Norwegian, as in English, abstract nouns often appear without an article when we talk about them in general:

Anonymitet er viktig. = Anonymity is important.
Personvern er viktig. = Privacy is important.

If you wanted to refer to something more specific, you could add an article or a possessive, e.g.:

vårt personvern = our privacy
denne anonymiteten = this anonymity

Why do we say er viktig and not er viktige when there are two things (anonymitet og personvern)?

Both er viktig and er viktige are actually possible here:

Anonymitet og personvern er viktig – treats them more as one combined, general principle.
Anonymitet og personvern er viktige – treats them more clearly as two separate things that are each important.

In everyday speech, Norwegians often use the singular viktig in such abstract, general statements. Using viktige is more “strictly” plural and can sound a bit more formal or more focused on them as two distinct items.

So your sentence with er viktig is natural and correct.

What does at do in forklarer at anonymitet og personvern er viktig?

At is a subordinating conjunction, similar to English that in reported or indirect speech.

Læreren forklarer at … = The teacher explains that …

It introduces a subordinate clause (anonymitet og personvern er viktig) which functions as the content of the explanation.

Compare:

Læreren forklarer anonymitet og personvern.
= The teacher explains anonymity and privacy. (here, anonymitet og personvern are direct objects, just nouns)
Læreren forklarer at anonymitet og personvern er viktig.
= The teacher explains that anonymity and privacy are important. (here, a whole sentence follows at)

Why is the word order at anonymitet og personvern er viktig and not at anonymitet og personvern viktig er?

In a Norwegian subordinate clause (introduced by at, når, fordi, etc.), the standard word order is:

[conjunction] + subject + (ikke) + verb + …

So:

at (conjunction)
anonymitet og personvern (subject)
er (verb)
viktig (adjective / predicate)

Putting er at the end (… viktig er) would be ungrammatical in modern Norwegian. Verb-second (V2) word order applies mainly in main clauses, not in subordinate clauses.

Why is it når vi svarer and not da vi svarer?

Når and da both translate to when, but they’re used differently.

Når
- For repeated, general, or future actions (like English when(ever)):
  - Når vi svarer på spørreskjemaet = When we (are) answer(ing) the questionnaire (in general / this time / any time)
- Also used for questions: Når kommer du? = When are you coming?
Da
- Used for a single, specific event in the past:
  - Da vi svarte på spørreskjemaet, var vi nervøse.
    = When we answered the questionnaire, we were nervous.

Because the sentence is not limited to one specific past event, når is the correct choice.

Why do we say svarer på and not just svarer?

The verb å svare means to answer, but its pattern with objects is a bit special:

svare noen = answer someone
- Jeg svarer læreren. = I answer the teacher.
svare på noe = answer something / answer to something
- Jeg svarer på spørsmålet. = I answer the question.
- Vi svarer på spørreskjemaet. = We answer the questionnaire.

So with spørreskjema (the questionnaire) as the thing being answered, Norwegian normally uses på: svare på spørreskjemaet.

What does the ending -et in spørreskjemaet mean?

Spørreskjema is a neuter noun (et-woord). Its forms are:

et spørreskjema = a questionnaire
spørreskjemaet = the questionnaire
spørreskjema (indef. plural, same as singular in neuter words ending in -a) – in practice, you more often see:
spørreskjemaer = questionnaires (common plural form)
spørreskjemaene = the questionnaires

The -et at the end marks definite singular neuter: the questionnaire.

So på spørreskjemaet literally means on the questionnaire, i.e. on this particular questionnaire they are about to answer.

Why is it på spørreskjemaet and not i spørreskjemaet?

Both på and i can appear with spørreskjema, but they mean slightly different things:

svare på spørreskjemaet = answer the questionnaire
(på is required by the verb svare på noe = answer something)

If you use i, you’re usually describing something located inside the questionnaire:

I spørreskjemaet er det ti spørsmål.
= In the questionnaire there are ten questions.

So:

Verb pattern: svare på noe
Location/content: i noe

If I wanted to say “…is not important”, where would ikke go?

In a subordinate clause (after at), the typical pattern is:

[conjunction] + subject + ikke + verb + …

So you would say:

Læreren forklarer at anonymitet og personvern ikke er viktig.
= The teacher explains that anonymity and privacy are not important.

Notice:

In main clauses: Anonymitet og personvern er ikke viktig.
In subordinate clauses: … at anonymitet og personvern ikke er viktig.

The position of ikke shifts to before the verb in subordinate clauses.

How do you pronounce spørreskjema and the letters æ and ø?

Very roughly (using English-like approximations):

spørreskjema ≈ SPUR-reh-sheh-ma
- spør – like spur but with Norwegian ø (see below)
- re – like reh
- skj – sounds like sh in she
- ema – eh-ma

About the special vowels:

ø – a bit like the vowel in British sir or French deux, but with rounded lips.
In spørre, your lips are rounded while saying something like “sper-”.
æ – similar to a in cat.
For example, in læ of lærer you get a sound close to lae- in lad.

Precise pronunciation will depend on dialect, but these approximations are close enough for a learner to be understood.