Samtidig som barna leker, lager hun middag.

While the children play, she makes dinner.

Breakdown of Samtidig som barna leker, lager hun middag.

• hun: she
• barnet: the child
• lage: to make
• middagen: the dinner
• leke: to play
• samtidig som: while

Questions & Answers about Samtidig som barna leker, lager hun middag.

What does the connector in samtidig som do, and how is it different from mens?

Both introduce a subordinate clause meaning “while/at the same time as.”

• samtidig som literally “at the same time as,” slightly more explicit/formal about simultaneity.
• mens is shorter and very common in everyday speech. They’re interchangeable here:
• Samtidig som barna leker, lager hun middag.
• Mens barna leker, lager hun middag.

Why is it lager hun middag and not hun lager middag after the comma?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule (the finite verb is in second position). When a subordinate clause comes first, it occupies position 1, so the finite verb of the main clause must come next:

• Fronted subclause + main clause: Samtidig som …, lager hun middag.
• If you start with the main clause, it’s ordinary order: Hun lager middag …

Can I swap the order of the clauses?

Yes: Hun lager middag samtidig som barna leker.

• In this order, you normally do not use a comma before the subordinate clause.
• With mens: Hun lager middag mens barna leker.

Why is there a comma after the first clause?

In Norwegian, a subordinate clause placed before the main clause is normally followed by a comma:

• [Samtidig som barna leker], lager hun middag.

Where do I put ikke (not) in sentences like this?

• In a main clause, sentence adverbs like ikke come after the finite verb: Hun lager ikke middag.
• In a subordinate clause, they come before the finite verb: … samtidig som barna ikke leker.
  Combined: Samtidig som barna leker, lager hun ikke middag.

Is leker here “toys” or a verb?

Here it’s the verb leker (present tense of å leke, “to play”). The noun leker (plural of en leke, “a toy”) appears in contexts like barna har mange leker (“the children have many toys”). Context and position tell them apart: after a subject, leker is a verb (“barna leker” = “the children play”).

What’s the difference between å leke and å spille?

• å leke = to play in the general/child’s-play sense (free play, pretend, playground).
• å spille = to play structured games, sports, or instruments: spille fotball, spille sjakk, spille piano.
  So barna leker is natural for kids playing; barna spiller fotball if they’re playing soccer.

What exactly does barna mean, and why not barn?

• barn is a neuter noun with the same form in singular and plural (irregular).
• Forms:
  • Indefinite singular: et barn
  • Definite singular: barnet
  • Indefinite plural: barn
  • Definite plural: barna (“the children”)
    So barna leker = “the children are playing.”

Is the Norwegian present tense used for ongoing actions like English “is doing”?

Yes. Norwegian has no separate progressive form. Plain present covers both simple and progressive meanings:

• Hun lager middag = “She makes dinner” / “She is making dinner.”
  Don’t say er lager or er leker.

Why hun and not henne? What about ho/hu?

• hun = subject form (“she”).
• henne = object form (“her”): Jeg ser henne (“I see her”).
• ho/hu are dialectal/colloquial variants of hun. In standard Bokmål, use hun.

Does lage middag specifically mean “to cook,” and why is there no article?

Yes. å lage means “to make,” and with food it means “to cook/prepare.” Meal names usually take no article in such expressions: lage middag, spise frokost, lage lunsj. You could add an article for a specific meal: Hun lager middagen (“the dinner,” a particular one).

Does middag mean “midday” or “dinner”?

In modern usage it’s the main hot meal of the day—“dinner” (often in the afternoon/early evening in Norway). “Lunch” is lunsj. Historically the word relates to “mid-day,” but today middag = dinner.

What is som doing in samtidig som? Is it the same som as “who/that/which”?

Here som is part of a fixed subordinator meaning “as/that” in time clauses: samtidig som = “at the same time as.” It’s the same word used as a relative pronoun elsewhere, but in this expression it functions as a conjunction-like linker. Don’t say samtidig at—that’s ungrammatical.

How do you pronounce the key words?

Approximate Oslo-area pronunciations (IPA):

• samtidig [sɑmˈtiːdɪɡ] (stress on -ti-)
• som [som]
• barna [ˈbɑːɳɑ] (rn merges to a retroflex [ɳ])
• leker [ˈleːkər]
• lager [ˈlɑːɡər]
• middag [ˈmɪdɑɡ] (short i; many drop the final g in casual speech)
• hun [hʉn] (front rounded vowel [ʉ])