Vi fyller regnvannstønnen etter hvert som våren blir varmere.

Regnvannstønnen is the definite singular form, meaning the rainwater barrel.

This word is built like this:

• regn = rain
• vann = water
• tønne = barrel
• tønnen = the barrel

So regnvannstønnen literally means the rainwater barrel.

Norwegian very often expresses the by adding an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

• en tønne = a barrel
• tønnen = the barrel

Because this is a compound noun, the definiteness goes on the last part:

• regnvannstønne = a rainwater barrel
• regnvannstønnen = the rainwater barrel

Våren means the spring, while vår means spring in a more general or dictionary-style sense.

In Norwegian, seasons are often used with the definite form when talking about a specific season period in the year:

• om våren = in spring / in the spring
• våren blir varmere = the spring is getting warmer

So våren here refers to the actual spring season that is unfolding, not the abstract idea of spring.

Etter hvert som means something like:

• as
• as / while gradually
• in step with how
• as it progressively happens

In this sentence, it shows that one thing happens gradually at the same time as another process develops.

So:

• etter hvert som våren blir varmere = as spring gets warmer

A useful thing to remember is that etter hvert som often introduces a process that changes over time.

Examples:

• Etter hvert som barna blir eldre, blir de mer selvstendige. = As the children get older, they become more independent.
• Etter hvert som dagen gikk, ble han trøttere. = As the day went on, he got more tired.

No, not exactly.

• når usually means when
• etter hvert som means as / gradually as / in the course of

Compare:

• Når våren blir varmere, fyller vi regnvannstønnen. This sounds more like when spring gets warmer — possibly one point or condition.

• Vi fyller regnvannstønnen etter hvert som våren blir varmere. This means we fill it gradually as spring gets warmer.

So etter hvert som emphasizes a process, not just a time point.

Blir means becomes / gets, while er means is.

So:

• våren blir varmere = spring gets warmer / becomes warmer
• våren er varmere = spring is warmer

In this sentence, the idea is that the temperature is changing over time, so blir is the natural choice.

Varmere is the comparative form of varm:

• varm = warm
• varmere = warmer

The sentence describes a change: spring is becoming warmer than before.

This is very common after bli when something changes:

• Det blir kaldere. = It gets colder.
• Hun blir sterkere. = She gets stronger.
• Våren blir varmere. = Spring gets warmer.

Because varm usually forms its comparative with the ending -ere.

So:

• varm → varmere
• kald → kaldere
• stor → større

Using mer varm is generally not the normal choice here. Norwegian usually prefers the built-in comparative form when the adjective has one.

Fyller is the present tense of å fylle = to fill.

In Norwegian, the present tense can often describe:

1. something happening now
2. something that happens regularly
3. a general statement

So Vi fyller regnvannstønnen could mean:

• We are filling the rainwater barrel
• We fill the rainwater barrel
• We keep filling the rainwater barrel

In this sentence, because of etter hvert som, it sounds like an ongoing or repeated action during the season.

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding it to the noun itself.

English:

• the barrel
• the spring

Norwegian:

• tønnen
• våren

So the idea of the is already included in the endings -en.

You only use an extra definite word like den/det/de in some structures, for example with adjectives:

• tønnen = the barrel
• den store tønnen = the big barrel

But here there is no adjective before the noun, so the ending alone is enough.

This is standard Norwegian main-clause word order:

• Vi = subject
• fyller = verb
• regnvannstønnen = object
• etter hvert som ... = adverbial clause

The main clause comes first:

• Vi fyller regnvannstønnen

Then the subordinate clause introduced by etter hvert som:

• etter hvert som våren blir varmere

Inside the subordinate clause, the word order is also normal:

• våren = subject
• blir = verb
• varmere = complement

Yes. You could say:

• Etter hvert som våren blir varmere, fyller vi regnvannstønnen.

That is completely natural.

When a subordinate clause comes first in Norwegian, the main clause then has inversion, meaning the verb comes before the subject:

• ..., fyller vi ... not
• ..., vi fyller ...

So this is correct:

• Etter hvert som våren blir varmere, fyller vi regnvannstønnen.

Yes, very typical.

Norwegian often combines nouns into one long compound word. English sometimes does this too, but Norwegian does it even more consistently.

Here:

• regn
  • vann
    • tønne → regnvannstønne

The last element is the main noun, so this is a kind of tønne (barrel), specifically one for regnvann (rainwater).

This pattern is extremely common in Norwegian:

• kaffekopp = coffee cup
• bokhylle = bookshelf
• vannflaske = water bottle

Yes.

Vi simply means we, but who it refers to depends on context.

In this sentence, it could mean:

• the speaker and another person
• a family or household
• people in general, in a slightly informal sense

Without more context, it most naturally sounds like a specific group: we fill the rainwater barrel as spring gets warmer.

In this expression, it is normally written as two words:

• etter hvert som

Learners sometimes confuse this with older or nonstandard spellings, but for standard modern Norwegian, write:

• etter hvert
• etter hvert som

So in this sentence, the spelling is correct:

• Vi fyller regnvannstønnen etter hvert som våren blir varmere.