Mange barn leker i parken.

Many children play in the park.

Breakdown of Mange barn leker i parken.

• barnet: the child
• i: in
• leke: to play
• parken: the park
• mange: many

Questions & Answers about Mange barn leker i parken.

What part of speech is mange, and when do I use it?

mange is a quantifier used with countable nouns in the plural. Use mange barn for “many children.” If the noun is uncountable (like vann or melk), you’d use mye instead (e.g. mye vann).

Why is barn the same in singular and plural?

barn is a neuter noun with an irregular plural form that looks like the singular.
• Indefinite singular: et barn
• Indefinite plural: barn
• Definite singular: barnet
• Definite plural: barna

What is leker, and how do I form the present tense of å leke?

leker is the present tense of å leke (“to play”). Norwegian doesn’t have a separate progressive form; the simple present covers both English “play” and “are playing.” Conjugation is the same for all persons:
jeg leker, du leker, han/hun leker, vi leker, dere leker, de leker

Why do we say i parken instead of på parken, and why is parken definite?

i means “in” (inside an area), whereas på is more like “on” or “at.” Parken is the definite singular of park (en park → parken) because we’re talking about a specific park: “the park.”

Why isn't there an article before barn?

Indefinite plural nouns in Norwegian don’t take an article. Just as in English you say “many children” (no “a” or “the”), in Norwegian it’s simply mange barn.

How would I say “in a park” instead of “in the park”?

Use the indefinite form: i en park.
So Mange barn leker i en park means “Many children are playing in a park.”

How do I ask “Are many children playing in the park?” in Norwegian?

You can form a direct question:
Leker mange barn i parken?
A more natural alternative is:
Er det mange barn som leker i parken?
(literally “Is it many children who play in the park?”)

How do I say “the children” in Norwegian?

“The children” (definite plural) is barna.
So Barna leker i parken means “The children are playing in the park.”