Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg støvsuger stuen mens barna leker. - I vacuum the living room while the children play.

Norwegian doesn’t have a separate present continuous tense. The simple present covers both “I vacuum” and “I am vacuuming.” If you want to emphasize “right now,” you can say:

Jeg holder på å støvsuge (nå).
Jeg er i ferd med å støvsuge.

What does mens do to the clause that follows it?

Mens is a subordinating conjunction meaning “while” (simultaneous actions, sometimes “whereas” for contrast). The clause after mens is a subordinate clause with normal subject–verb order: barna leker (subject before verb). You do not invert to verb–subject there.

Can I use når or da instead of mens?

mens = “while,” focusing on two things happening at the same time.
når = “when” (general time, present/future, or habitual past).
da = “when” for a single, specific event in the past. Here, mens is the natural choice to express simultaneity now.

Do I need a comma before mens?

Not in a short sentence like this. Both are seen:

Jeg støvsuger stuen mens barna leker. (very common)
Jeg støvsuger stuen, mens barna leker. (comma added for a pause/clarity, more likely in longer sentences or certain style guides)

Why is it stuen and not stue?

Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix. stue = “living room”; stuen = “the living room.” Forms:

Indefinite singular: (en) stue
Definite singular: stuen
Indefinite plural: stuer
Definite plural: stuene

What’s the difference between stuen and stua?

Both are correct Bokmål definite forms. stuen is the -en form (more neutral/formal), stua is the -a form (more colloquial). You’ll also see:

en stue – stuen or en/ei stue – stua Try to be consistent in a given text.

Why is it støvsuger stuen and not støvsuger i stuen?

støvsuge stuen = vacuum the living room (the room is the direct object being cleaned).
støvsuge i stuen = vacuum in the living room (that’s where the activity happens, but you might be vacuuming something else there, like a rug).

Why barna and not barnene?

barn is a neuter noun with an irregular plural. Its forms are:

Singular: et barn – barnet
Plural: barn – barna So the definite plural is barna (not “barnene”).

Does leker mean “plays” or “toys”?

Both exist:

Verb: å leke (to play) → barna leker = “the children are playing.”
Noun: en leke (a toy) → plural leker = “toys.” Context decides: after a subject with no article and followed by no noun, leker is almost certainly the verb.

Why leker and not spiller?

å leke = play in the general/child’s sense, play with toys, imaginative play.
å spille = play structured games/sports/instruments (e.g., spille fotball, spille piano). Children “play” = leker; children “play soccer” = spiller fotball.

How do you conjugate å støvsuge?

Infinitive: å støvsuge
Present: støvsuger
Preterite: støvsugde
Present perfect: har støvsugd or har støvsuget (both accepted)

What happens if I put the mens-clause first?

You get inversion (V2) in the main clause:

Mens barna leker, støvsuger jeg stuen. Subordinate clause first, then verb–subject in the main clause.

Where does ikke go in sentences like this?

In a main clause, ikke comes after the conjugated verb: Jeg støvsuger ikke stuen …
In a subordinate clause, ikke comes before the verb: … mens barna ikke leker. Don’t say “Jeg ikke støvsuger …”

How do I pronounce the tricky bits?

jeg ≈ “yai”/“jai” (common variants).
ø in støv: rounded vowel like French “eu.”
u in suger: like German “ü.”
g in suger is hard (like “go”).
Stress: STØV-suger, STU-en.

Is støvsuger also a noun?

Yes. Besides being the present tense of the verb støvsuge, en støvsuger is “a vacuum cleaner.” The word is a compound: støv (dust) + suge (suck).

Is mens at correct?

No. Use just mens. Mens at is not standard Norwegian.

Can I say barna leker seg?

You’ll hear it in some dialects, but standard written Bokmål normally uses barna leker without seg for “the children are playing.”