Breakdown of Barna går inn når tordenen begynner.
begynne
to begin
når
when
gå inn
to go in
tordenen
the thunder
barna
the children
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Questions & Answers about Barna går inn når tordenen begynner.
What does Barna mean?
Barna is the definite plural form of barn, so it translates as “the children.”
Why doesn’t barn change form in the plural indefinite? How do you get barna?
Barn is a neuter noun with a zero ending in the indefinite plural. Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix rather than a separate word. Here are the four forms you need to know:
- Indefinite singular: barn (a child)
- Definite singular: barnet (the child)
- Indefinite plural: barn (children)
- Definite plural: barna (the children)
Only the definite plural adds -a, giving you barna.
What does går inn mean, and why not say går inne?
- går is the present tense of gå (“to go”).
- inn is a directional adverb meaning “inside” (movement into).
Together gå inn = “go in” or “go inside.”
By contrast, inne is a stative adverb meaning “inside” in the sense of staying or being there (e.g. Barna er inne = “The children are inside”). You don’t combine gå with inne because inne doesn’t express entering.
Why is there no å before går in this sentence?
In Norwegian, å marks the infinitive (“to” in English). You only use å before unconjugated verb forms. Here, går is already conjugated in the present tense (finite form), so you never put å in front of it. You would say å gå only when the verb itself is in the infinitive.
What does når mean, and how is it different from da?
- når = “when” for general, repeated, or future events.
- da = “when” but only for a single past event.
Since tordenen begynner describes something that happens when thunder starts (a present/future event), you use når. If you were talking about one past thunderclap, you might use da.
Why is the verb begynner at the end of the clause når tordenen begynner?
Norwegian subordinate clauses (introduced by conjunctions like når, fordi, at, etc.) follow a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) pattern, meaning the finite verb moves to the end. English keeps the verb earlier, but in Norwegian you say når tordenen begynner (literally “when the thunder begins”), with begynner at the end.
What does tordenen mean, and why is there an -en suffix?
tordenen is the definite singular of torden (“thunder”). In Norwegian you usually add -en (for masculine/feminine nouns) to form the definite singular. Thus:
- torden = thunder (indefinite)
- tordenen = the thunder (definite)
Why is there no comma before når, and could you move the når clause to the front?
When a subordinate clause follows the main clause, you typically omit the comma in Norwegian. If you place the når clause first, you should add a comma after it for clarity:
Når tordenen begynner, går barna inn.
Could you use det begynner å tordne instead of tordenen begynner?
Yes. A more colloquial way is det begynner å tordne (“it starts to thunder”), using the dummy subject det and the infinitive tordne. Both forms are correct, but det begynner å tordne is more common in everyday speech.