Breakdown of Tre barn leker ute i hagen.
barnet
the child
i
in
leke
to play
ute
outside
hagen
the garden
tre
three
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Questions & Answers about Tre barn leker ute i hagen.
What tense is leker, and how does it relate to English “are playing”?
leker is the simple present tense of å leke (to play). Norwegian does not have a separate present‐progressive form like English. So you use leker for both “play” and “are playing.” In English you’d often translate it as “are playing,” but grammatically it’s just present tense.
Why isn’t there an article before hagen?
In Norwegian you indicate definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun, not by using a separate word. hage is “garden,” and hagen (with -en) means “the garden.” That’s why you say i hagen for “in the garden,” not i en hagen (which would mean “in a garden”).
What part of speech is ute, and why is it placed after the verb?
ute is an adverb meaning “out” or “outside.” In a main clause the typical word order is Subject – Verb – Adverb, so you get tre barn leker ute. The adverb then often combines with a prepositional phrase (i hagen) to give full location information.
Why does barn stay the same in the plural?
barn is an irregular neuter noun that has identical singular and plural forms. You say et barn (one child), to barn (two children), tre barn (three children), etc. There’s no extra ending for the plural.
Can I start with the location and still make sense? For example: Ute i hagen leker tre barn?
Yes. Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb‐second). If you place ute i hagen first, the verb leker must come next, followed by the subject tre barn. This word order is correct and shifts the emphasis to the location.
Why do we use i hagen instead of på hagen?
i is used for enclosed or bounded spaces (in the garden, in the room). på is used for surfaces or certain fixed expressions (on the table, at school, on the mountain). A garden is thought of as an area you’re “in,” so you say i hagen.
Why isn’t there an auxiliary verb like er here? In English I’d say “They are playing.”
Norwegian uses the simple present (leker) for ongoing actions. There is no construction er + leker in Norwegian. The verb alone covers both “play” and “are playing.”
How would I say “the three children are playing…” instead of just “three children”?
To express the three children, you say de tre barna. Here barn in the definite plural takes -a (barna). So the full sentence becomes De tre barna leker ute i hagen.