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Questions & Answers about Barna leker med hunden.
What does Barna mean, and why is it not simply barn?
Barna translates as "the children". In Norwegian, definite nouns are formed by adding a suffix to the base (indefinite) noun. Here, the indefinite barn (which can mean “child” or “children”) becomes barna by adding the suffix -a to indicate the definite plural form.
What tense is the verb leker, and how is it used in Norwegian?
Leker is the present tense form of the verb å leke, meaning "to play". Unlike English, Norwegian verbs do not change form based on the subject. So regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural, leker is used to express an action happening now—equivalent to both the simple present and the present continuous in English.
Why is the preposition med used in this sentence?
Med means "with" in English. It is an essential part of the verb phrase å leke med, which translates to "to play with." This preposition links the action of playing to the object of play, in this case, hunden (“the dog”).
How is the object "the dog" expressed in Norwegian, and what role does hunden play?
In Norwegian, the definite article is attached to the noun as a suffix. The word hund means "dog", and by adding -en, it becomes hunden—meaning "the dog". In the sentence, hunden is the object that the children are interacting with.
What is the sentence structure of Barna leker med hunden, and how does it compare to English word order?
The sentence follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order: • Barna is the subject. • Leker is the verb. • Med hunden is the object phrase (including the preposition). This structure mirrors English word order in the sentence "The children are playing with the dog."
Why do Norwegian nouns use suffixes for definite forms instead of a separate word like English "the"?
Norwegian grammar incorporates the definite article directly into the noun by adding a suffix. This means you don’t use a separate word equivalent to "the". For example, barn becomes barna and hund becomes hunden. This system is a key characteristic of Norwegian and contrasts with English, which uses a separate, standalone article.