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Questions & Answers about Jeg tar med en bok til skolen.
What does tar med mean in this sentence?
tar med is the present-tense form of the phrasal verb ta med, which means “to bring” (literally “to take with”). Here tar is the present of ta (“to take”) and med (“with”) stays immediately after it to complete the meaning.
Why is it tar med and not just tar or just med?
You need both parts of the phrasal verb to express “bring.” tar alone means “take,” and med alone is the preposition “with.” Together, ta med functions as one verb: “to bring.”
What does en bok tell us about Norwegian nouns and articles?
bok is a common‐gender noun (sometimes called feminine/masculine), so its indefinite article is en. Thus en bok means “a book.” Neuter nouns would use et.
Why is skolen definite, and how would I say “to a school” instead?
skolen is the definite form of skole (“school”), so til skolen means “to the school.” To say “to a school,” use the indefinite: til en skole.
What does til indicate here, and could I use på instead?
til marks direction or destination (“to”). på skolen means “at school” (location), not “to school.” Use til when you talk about going somewhere.
Why is the sentence order Jeg tar med en bok til skolen, not Jeg tar en bok med til skolen?
Norwegian is a V2 language: the finite verb (tar) must occupy the second position, right after the subject (jeg). The particle med, being part of the verb, stays immediately after tar, before the object.
Could I say Jeg tar med meg en bok til skolen? What does meg add?
Yes. ta med seg is a reflexive construction. Jeg tar med meg en bok (“I take with myself a book”) adds emphasis or clarity that you’re the one bringing it. It’s common but not required.
How would I translate the sentence word-for-word into English?
A literal gloss is “I take with a book to the school.” The idiomatic English translation is “I bring a book to school.”