Barna leker i hagen.

The children play in the garden.

Breakdown of Barna leker i hagen.

• barnet: the child
• i: in
• leke: to play
• hagen: the garden

Questions & Answers about Barna leker i hagen.

Why is it barna and not a separate word for the children?

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually built into the noun itself rather than shown with a separate word like the.

• barn = child / children (depending on context)
• barna = the children

So -a here marks the definite plural.

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car
• biler = cars
• bilene = the cars

But barn is a special noun:

• et barn = a child
• barn = children
• barna = the children

So barna leker means the children are playing / the children play.

Is barn both singular and plural?

Yes. Barn is one of those Norwegian nouns where the indefinite singular and indefinite plural have the same form.

• et barn = a child
• barn = children
• barna = the children

That can feel strange to an English speaker, but Norwegian uses the article or the context to make the meaning clear.

For example:

• Jeg ser et barn. = I see a child.
• Jeg ser barn. = I see children.
• Jeg ser barna. = I see the children.