Barna løper bortover sykkelstien.

The children run along the bike path.

Breakdown of Barna løper bortover sykkelstien.

• barnet: the child
• løpe: to run
• sykkelstien: the bike path
• bortover: along

Questions & Answers about Barna løper bortover sykkelstien.

What does the form barna mean, and why does it end in -a?

Barna means the children. The noun barn (child/children) is neuter and irregular:

• singular indefinite: et barn (a child)
• singular definite: barnet (the child)
• plural indefinite: barn (children)
• plural definite: barna (the children)

The -a ending here is the definite plural ending. In standard Bokmål, the correct definite plural is barna (not “barnene”).

Is løper a present-tense form, and does Norwegian have a separate “-ing” form like English?

Yes, løper is present tense of å løpe (to run). Norwegian uses the simple present for ongoing actions, so Barna løper … covers English “The children are running …” You do not say “er løper.” A true continuous form isn’t used in normal speech.

How is the verb å løpe conjugated?

• infinitive: å løpe
• present: løper
• preterite (simple past): løp
• past participle/supine: løpt (used with “har”) Examples:
• Barna løp … (The children ran …)
• Barna har løpt … (The children have run …)

What nuance does bortover add?

Bortover means “along/over that way” and suggests horizontal movement away from the speaker along a surface or path. It’s common with motion verbs:

• løpe bortover veien = run along the road
• Compare:
  • bort = away (no sense of “along”)
  • over = across (to the other side)
  • langs = along (often alongside or following the length of something)
  • nedover/oppover = downward/upward (along a slope) So bortover sykkelstien implies running along the bike path itself, away from where we are.

Why is there no preposition like “på” before sykkelstien?

With directional adverbs such as bortover/nedover/oppover, Norwegian often uses a bare noun phrase:

• bortover veien, nedover elva, oppover bakken. You may hear bortover på sykkelstien, but the preposition is unnecessary and the shorter form is more idiomatic.

What does sykkelstien mean morphologically?

It’s a compound plus a definite ending:

• sykkel (bicycle) + sti (path) = sykkelsti (bike path)
• definite singular ending -en → sykkelstien = “the bike path.” Other forms: en/ei sykkelsti, sykkelstier (paths), sykkelstiene (the paths).

Can sti be feminine, and would that change this sentence?

Yes, in Bokmål many nouns that are masculine can also be feminine. sti can be en sti or ei sti. If you choose the feminine set, the definite form is stia, so the compound would be sykkelstia. Both sykkelstien (masc.) and sykkelstia (fem.) are accepted; the masculine form is more common in writing.

What’s the difference between bortover sykkelstien, langs sykkelstien, and over sykkelstien?

• bortover sykkelstien = along the bike path (on it, moving away from here).
• langs sykkelstien = along the bike path (following its length; could be on it or alongside it).
• over sykkelstien = across the bike path (from one side to the other).

Where would I put negation (ikke) in this sentence?

In a neutral main clause, negation comes after the finite verb and after the subject:

• Barna løper ikke bortover sykkelstien. If you front some other element (like a time expression), Norwegian keeps the verb in second position (V2):
• I dag løper barna ikke bortover sykkelstien. Putting ikke before barna (e.g., “I dag løper ikke barna …”) makes a contrastive meaning (“It isn’t the children who …”).

Can I front the directional phrase for emphasis?

Yes, for stylistic emphasis you can front it, keeping the verb second:

• Bortover sykkelstien løper barna. This sounds a bit literary or emphatic compared to the neutral order.

How would I say this in the past, present perfect, and future?

• Past (preterite): Barna løp bortover sykkelstien.
• Present perfect: Barna har løpt bortover sykkelstien.
• Future: Barna skal løpe bortover sykkelstien. / Barna kommer til å løpe bortover sykkelstien.

Is there a synonym for å løpe?

Yes, å springe is a common alternative, especially in many dialects and in Nynorsk:

• present: springer
• past: sprang
• perfect: har sprunget Example: Barna springer bortover sykkelstien.

Could I use a more colloquial word for “children,” like “kids”?

Yes, unger is common in speech:

• Ungene løper bortover sykkelstien. Grammatically it behaves like a regular masculine noun: en unge, ungen, unger, ungene.

How would I make a yes/no question from this sentence?

Invert subject and verb:

• Løper barna bortover sykkelstien? (Are the children running along the bike path?) You can add a question word for more detail:
• Hvor løper barna? — Barna løper bortover sykkelstien.

Is it okay to say “Children run along the bike path” in a general sense?

Yes, but you’d make both nouns indefinite to keep it generic:

• Barn løper bortover sykkelstier. (Children run along bike paths.) Mixing an indefinite subject with a definite object (Barn løper … sykkelstien) would imply a specific bike path but non-specific children, which is unusual unless context justifies it.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

Approximate, Eastern Norwegian:

• Barna ≈ “BAR-nah.” The “rn” often merges into a retroflex n.
• løper ≈ “LØH-per” (ø like French “peu”; long vowel).
• bortover ≈ “BORT-oh-ver,” with retroflex “rt” (sounds a bit like a hard “t”).
• sykkelstien ≈ “SÜK-kel-stee-en” (y like German ü; double k = short vowel).

Could I say nedover or oppover instead of bortover?

Yes, if you want to add slope/direction nuance:

• nedover sykkelstien = down(wards) along the bike path
• oppover sykkelstien = up(wards) along the bike path Use these when elevation matters; otherwise bortover is the neutral “along/away.”

Why is the noun definite (sykkelstien) here?

Definite nouns are used when the referent is identifiable/specific in context (a particular bike path we have in mind). If the path is new information or non-specific, you’d use the indefinite: en sykkelsti. For example: Barna løper bortover en sykkelsti (on some bike path or one just introduced).