Barna synes det er urettferdig når fotballkampen blir avlyst.

The children think it is unfair when the football match is cancelled.

Breakdown of Barna synes det er urettferdig når fotballkampen blir avlyst.

• være: to be
• barnet: the child
• det: it
• når: when
• synes: to think
• fotballkampen: the football match
• bli avlyst: to be cancelled
• urettferdig: unfair

Questions & Answers about Barna synes det er urettferdig når fotballkampen blir avlyst.

Why is it barna and not barnene?

The noun barn (child) is irregular in Norwegian:

• Singular indefinite: et barn – a child
• Singular definite: barnet – the child
• Plural indefinite: barn – children
• Plural definite: barna – the children

So barna already means the children.
There is no form barnene in standard Norwegian; that would be incorrect.

What exactly does synes mean here, and how is it different from tror or mener?

Synes is used for personal opinions and feelings, especially based on your own experience or impression.

Rough guide:

• synes – to think / to feel (an opinion based on your sense of fairness, taste, impression)
  
  • Barna synes det er urettferdig – The children think/feel it is unfair.
• tror – to think / to believe (about facts, when you’re not sure)
  
  • Jeg tror kampen blir avlyst – I think (I believe) the match will be cancelled.
• mener – to mean / to hold an opinion (more deliberate, often in discussions)
  
  • Jeg mener det er feil – I mean / I’m of the opinion it is wrong.

In this sentence, the children are expressing a feeling of unfairness, so synes is the natural choice.

Why do we need det in synes det er urettferdig? Could we just say Barna synes er urettferdig?

You can’t drop det here. Norwegian needs a subject in this type of sentence.

Det is a dummy (formal) subject, similar to it in English:

• Det er urettferdig. – It is unfair.
• Barna synes det er urettferdig. – The children think (that) it is unfair.

Grammatically, the structure is:

• Barna (subject of synes)
• synes (verb)
• det (dummy subject of the inner clause)
• er urettferdig (what “det” refers to)

So Barna synes er urettferdig is ungrammatical; something has to be the subject of er, and here that something is det.

Could we add at and say Barna synes at det er urettferdig? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Barna synes at det er urettferdig.

at is a conjunction meaning that.

In spoken and informal written Norwegian, at is often dropped in sentences like this, just as English often drops that:

• English: The children think (that) it is unfair.
• Norwegian: Barna synes (at) det er urettferdig.

Both versions are correct. The meaning is the same; with at it sounds a bit more explicit/formal.

What does urettferdig literally mean, and is the u- a common prefix?

urettferdig means unfair.

Literally, it’s:

• u- – a negative prefix (like un-, in-, im- in English)
• rettferdig – fair, just

So:

• rettferdig – fair
• urettferdig – unfair

Yes, u- is a common way to form opposites in Norwegian:

• rett – correct → urett – incorrect / wrong
• rolig – calm → urolig – uneasy / restless
• rettferdig – fair → urettferdig – unfair

Why is it når fotballkampen blir avlyst and not da fotballkampen blir avlyst?

Both når and da can mean when, but they’re used differently:

• når is used for:

  • repeated or general situations
  • future time
  • questions: Når kommer du? – When are you coming?

• da is used for:

  • a specific time/moment in the past

In this sentence, når fotballkampen blir avlyst describes a general situation (whenever a football match gets cancelled, they feel it’s unfair). So når is correct.

If you were talking about one specific event in the past, you’d use da:

• Barna syntes det var urettferdig da fotballkampen ble avlyst.
  The children thought it was unfair when the football match was cancelled (that particular time).

How is the word order affected by når in når fotballkampen blir avlyst?

når fotballkampen blir avlyst is a subordinate clause (a dependent clause), introduced by når.

In Norwegian:

• Main clause: subject – verb – (other stuff)
  
  • Barna synes det er urettferdig.
• Subordinate clause: subordinator – subject – verb – (other stuff)
  
  • når fotballkampen blir avlyst

So in the når-clause, the subject fotballkampen comes before the verb blir.
You don’t use the V2 (verb-second) rule inside this type of subordinate clause.

The full sentence is:

• [Barna synes det er urettferdig] [når fotballkampen blir avlyst].
  
  • Main clause + subordinate clause.

Why is it fotballkampen and not just fotballkamp?

fotballkamp is a compound noun:

• fotball – football (soccer)
• kamp – match, game, fight
• fotballkamp – football match

Norwegian often uses the definite form where English uses the:

• kampen – the match
• fotballkampen – the football match

In this sentence, we’re talking about a specific match (for example, the one they were going to play), so the definite form fotballkampen (the football match) is natural.

Forms of fotballkamp:

• en fotballkamp – a football match
• fotballkampen – the football match
• fotballkamper – football matches
• fotballkampene – the football matches

What does blir avlyst mean, and why use blir instead of er?

blir avlyst is a passive construction:

• bli (here blir) – to become / to get
• avlyst – cancelled (past participle of avlyse = to cancel)

So blir avlyst literally means “is being cancelled / gets cancelled”, and is used to describe the event of cancellation.

Compare:

• Kampen blir avlyst. – The match is (gets) cancelled. (focus on the action/event)
• Kampen er avlyst. – The match is cancelled. (focus on the resulting state: the match is now off)

In this sentence, når fotballkampen blir avlyst describes what happens (the action of cancelling), so blir avlyst fits better than er avlyst.

Why is everything in the present tense (synes, er, blir) even though cancellation could be in the future?

Norwegian often uses the present tense to describe:

• general truths or repeated situations
• scheduled future events

Here, the sentence describes what typically happens:

• Whenever a football match gets cancelled, the children think it is unfair.

That kind of general, repeated situation takes the present tense in Norwegian:

• Barna synes det er urettferdig når fotballkampen blir avlyst.

If you wanted to refer to one specific future match, you might still use the present, especially if it’s a scheduled event:

• Barna kommer til å bli skuffet hvis kampen blir avlyst.
  The children will be disappointed if the match is cancelled.