Foreldrene krangler ikke, de snakker rolig sammen.

The parents do not argue, they talk calmly together.

Breakdown of Foreldrene krangler ikke, de snakker rolig sammen.

• snakke: to talk
• de: they
• sammen: together
• ikke: not
• forelderen: the parent
• rolig: calmly
• krangle: to argue

Questions & Answers about Foreldrene krangler ikke, de snakker rolig sammen.

Why is it Foreldrene and not just Foreldre?

Foreldre means parents in general (indefinite plural).
Foreldrene means the parents (definite plural).

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added as an ending:

• en forelder – a parent (singular, indefinite)
• foreldre – parents (plural, indefinite)
• foreldrene – the parents (plural, definite)

Here, we are talking about specific parents, so the definite form foreldrene is used instead of a separate word for the.

Why is there no separate word for the, like in English?

Norwegian usually marks definiteness with an ending on the noun instead of a separate article:

• bok – book
• boken / boka – the book
• hus – house
• huset – the house
• foreldre – parents
• foreldrene – the parents

So where English uses the parents, Norwegian typically uses foreldrene, not de foreldre. (There are some special cases with a separate article, but this is the normal pattern.)

What are the basic forms of krangler and snakker?

The infinitives are:

• å krangle – to argue, to quarrel
• å snakke – to speak, to talk

The present tense of regular verbs is usually formed by adding -r:

• jeg krangler – I argue
• vi krangler – we argue
• jeg snakker – I speak / talk
• de snakker – they speak / talk

So krangler and snakker here are just the normal present tense forms.

Why does ikke (not) come after krangler?

In a normal main clause with subject first, the typical word order is:

Subject – Verb – Ikke – (rest of the sentence)

So:

• Foreldrene krangler ikke. – The parents do not argue.
• De snakker ikke rolig. – They do not speak calmly.

You cannot say Foreldrene ikke krangler in a neutral main clause. That order is wrong in standard Norwegian.

Could the sentence be Foreldrene snakker rolig sammen, de krangler ikke instead?

Yes, grammatically that is fine:

• Foreldrene snakker rolig sammen, de krangler ikke.

The meaning is basically the same, but the focus changes slightly:

• Original: Foreldrene krangler ikke, de snakker rolig sammen.
  – First you deny the idea of arguing, then you describe what they are doing.

• Alternative: Foreldrene snakker rolig sammen, de krangler ikke.
  – First you state how they are talking, then you add that they are not arguing.

Both are correct; the choice is about emphasis, not grammar.

Why is there a comma between the two parts instead of og (and) or men (but)?

Norwegian allows a comma between two main clauses that share the same subject context:

• Foreldrene krangler ikke, de snakker rolig sammen.

You could also write:

• Foreldrene krangler ikke, men de snakker rolig sammen. – …but they speak calmly together.
• Foreldrene krangler ikke, og de snakker rolig sammen. – …and they speak calmly together.

All three are grammatical. The simple comma is very natural in Norwegian and is not considered a mistake like a “comma splice” often is in English.

Why do we use de in the second part and not repeat Foreldrene?

Norwegian normally repeats a subject with a pronoun if a new clause follows:

• Foreldrene krangler ikke, de snakker rolig sammen.

You could also repeat the noun:

• Foreldrene krangler ikke, foreldrene snakker rolig sammen.

But this sounds heavy and unnatural. Using de is the normal, natural way.
Leaving the subject out (“…, snakker rolig sammen”) is not correct in standard Norwegian main clauses.

What does rolig mean exactly, and how is it different from stille?

rolig usually means calm(ly) or quiet(ly) in the sense of not agitated, not emotional, not heated.

stille means quiet, silent in the sense of low volume / no noise.

So:

• de snakker rolig – they talk in a calm, controlled way (tone, mood).
• de snakker stille – they talk quietly, in a low voice.

In this sentence, rolig contrasts nicely with krangler (arguing), which is usually loud and emotional.

What does sammen add to de snakker rolig?

sammen means together.
å snakke sammen is a very common expression meaning to talk with each other, to have a conversation.

• de snakker rolig – they speak calmly (could, in theory, be to someone else or to different people).
• de snakker rolig sammen – they speak calmly with each other.

So sammen emphasizes that this is a mutual, two-way conversation between them.

Can the word order be de snakker sammen rolig instead of de snakker rolig sammen?

Yes, de snakker sammen rolig is possible and understandable.

However, de snakker rolig sammen is more common and sounds more natural.
In practice, adverbs like rolig often come before sammen in this kind of phrase.

So:

• Most natural: de snakker rolig sammen
• Possible but less common: de snakker sammen rolig

Does krangle need med (with) or hverandre (each other), like krangle med hverandre?

It can, but it doesn’t have to.

• Foreldrene krangler. – The parents are arguing (with each other is understood).
• Foreldrene krangler med hverandre. – The parents are arguing with each other.
• Foreldrene krangler med naboen. – The parents are arguing with the neighbour.

In your sentence, Foreldrene krangler ikke is enough to show they are not arguing with each other; the context makes this clear, so extra words are not needed.