Jeg tar med ryggsekken til skolen.

I take the backpack to school.

Breakdown of Jeg tar med ryggsekken til skolen.

• jeg: I
• til: to
• skolen: the school
• ryggsekken: the backpack
• ta med: to take along

Questions & Answers about Jeg tar med ryggsekken til skolen.

Why do we say tar med instead of just tar?

Tar med is a phrasal verb meaning “to take along” or “to bring” something with you. Tar alone simply means “to take,” but without med it doesn’t convey the idea of taking something with you as you go.

Where does med go, and why can it also come after the object?

Med is a separable particle. You can attach it right after the verb—Jeg tar med ryggsekken—or place it after the object—Jeg tar ryggsekken med. Both orders are correct; the choice is a matter of style and emphasis.

Why is ryggsekken in its definite form instead of en ryggsekk?

The sentence refers to a specific, known backpack (probably your own). That’s why you use the definite form ryggsekken (“the backpack”). If you wanted to say “I take a backpack to school,” you’d say Jeg tar med en ryggsekk til skolen.

What is the gender of ryggsekk and how does it affect articles?

Ryggsekk is a common‐gender (en‐word) noun. Indefinite singular is en ryggsekk, and the definite singular is formed by adding -en: ryggsekken.

Why is it til skolen and not på skolen?

Til indicates movement toward a destination (“to school”). På indicates location (“at school”). Since you’re taking the backpack to the school (movement), you use til skolen.

How do I say “I take the backpack with me to school”?

You add the reflexive pronoun meg after the particle:
Jeg tar med meg ryggsekken til skolen.
This literally means “I take along with me the backpack to school.”

How would I express this sentence in the past tense?

The verb ta is irregular. In past tense, tar becomes tok, so you’d say:
Jeg tok med ryggsekken til skolen i går.
(“I took the backpack to school yesterday.”)

Can I use bringe instead of ta med?

Yes, but bringe is more formal and less common in spoken Norwegian. You could say Jeg bringer ryggsekken til skolen, but everyday speech normally uses Jeg tar med ryggsekken til skolen.

Why is ryggsekken written as one word, and what does it literally mean?

Norwegian forms compound nouns by combining words into one. Ryggsekken is made of rygg (“back”) + sekk (“bag”), so it literally means “back bag” (backpack).