Han svarer usikkert, men jeg stoler på ham.

He answers uncertainly, but I trust him.

Breakdown of Han svarer usikkert, men jeg stoler på ham.

• jeg: I
• han: he
• men: but
• ham: him

Questions & Answers about Han svarer usikkert, men jeg stoler på ham.

Why is it svarer and not something like svarar or svar?

Svarer is the present tense of the verb å svare (to answer). In Bokmål, many verbs form the present with -er:

• å svare → svarer
• å stole → stoler

Svar is the imperative (Answer!) or a noun (an answer), depending on context.

Why does usikkert end in -t? Isn’t the adjective usikker?

Yes, the adjective is usikker (uncertain/insecure). Here it’s used as an adverb describing how he answers, and Norwegian often forms that adverb with -t:

• Han er usikker. = He is uncertain. (adjective, describes he)
• Han svarer usikkert. = He answers uncertainly. (adverb, describes answers)

Could you also say Han svarer usikker?

In standard written Bokmål, Han svarer usikkert is the normal form.
You may hear Han svarer usikker in speech/dialects, but in writing it’s generally treated as non-standard or informal compared to the -t adverb form.

What does svarer mean here—does it need an object (like “answer a question”)?