Learn Hardcore Norwegian: På søndag morgen lager hun pannekakerøre mens barna dekker bordet. - On Sunday morning she makes pancake batter while the children set the table.

So på søndag morgen literally corresponds to “on Sunday morning”, and that’s the standard pattern in Norwegian for this kind of time expression.

Why is there no article in "søndag morgen"? Why not something like “på søndagen morgenen”?

In Norwegian, time expressions with day + part of the day usually drop the article, even though you might expect a definite form:

mandag morgen – Monday morning
fredag kveld – Friday evening
søndag ettermiddag – Sunday afternoon

You normally do not say:

✗ på søndagen morgenen (sounds wrong/very strange)

Instead you say:

på søndag morgen – on Sunday morning

So this is just a standard idiomatic pattern: no article in these compact time expressions.

Why is the word order "På søndag morgen lager hun ..." and not "*På søndag morgen hun lager ..."?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule (verb-second word order):

The finite verb (here: lager) must be the second element in the sentence.

Elements count like this:

På søndag morgen – first element (entire time expression)
lager – finite verb (must be here)
hun – subject
pannekakerøre – object
mens barna dekker bordet – subordinate clause (adverbial)

So:

✅ På søndag morgen lager hun pannekakerøre ...
✗ På søndag morgen hun lager pannekakerøre ... (verb is not in second position)

This verb‑second rule is very important in Norwegian word order.

Why is "pannekakerøre" written as one word?

Norwegian (like German) loves compound nouns. When two nouns belong tightly together in meaning, they are usually joined into one word:

pannekake (pancake) + røre (batter/mix)
→ pannekakerøre (pancake batter)

Other examples:

kaffe + kopp → kaffekopp (coffee cup)
sommer + ferie → sommerferie (summer holiday)

So pannekakerøre is a compound noun, and it is correct and natural to write it as one word in Norwegian.

Why is it "pannekakerøre" without any article? Why not "en pannekakerøre"?

Røre (batter/mix) is typically treated as a mass noun here, like water, milk, or dough in English. In Norwegian, mass nouns in this usage are often used without an article:

Hun lager kaffe. – She makes coffee.
Vi baker brød. – We bake bread.
Han lager suppe. – He makes soup.

Similarly:

Hun lager pannekakerøre. – She makes pancake batter.

If you said en pannekakerøre, it would suggest one portion/kind of batter in a more countable sense, and it sounds unusual in this everyday context.

Why do we use "mens" here and not "når"? What’s the difference?

mens means “while” and focuses on two actions happening at the same time.
når means “when”, and is more general: when something happens (time of an event).

In this sentence, the idea is clearly simultaneous actions:

She is making batter while the children are setting the table.
→ mens barna dekker bordet

If you used når here, it would sound more like:

“When the children set the table, she makes pancake batter” – which is more about time/condition, not simple simultaneity.

So mens is the natural choice to express two ongoing actions in parallel.

Why is it "barna" and not "barnene" for “the children”?

The noun barn (child) is neuter and irregular:

ett barn – one child
barn – children (indefinite plural; same form)
barna – the children (definite plural)

There is no form barnene in standard Norwegian.

Forms:

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

So barna is the only correct form for “the children” here.

Why is it "dekker bordet" and not just "dekker bord"?

The expression "dekke bordet" is a fixed phrase meaning “to set the table”:

å dekke bordet – to lay/set the table

Using the definite form bordet (the table) is normal because we are talking about a specific table everyone knows about (the family’s table at home).

Compare:

Jeg vasker bilen. – I’m washing the car.
Hun rydder rommet. – She is tidying the room.

So barna dekker bordet literally means “the children are setting the table”, and the definite article sounds natural and idiomatic in Norwegian.

Why is it "lager hun" and not "hun lager" after the time expression?

Both exist, but they appear in different positions:

Hun lager pannekakerøre på søndag morgen.
– Subject first, verb second; time expression later.
På søndag morgen lager hun pannekakerøre.
– Time expression first, so the verb must be second (V2 rule), and the subject moves after the verb.

You cannot say:

✗ På søndag morgen hun lager ... (verb not second)

So:

If the subject comes first → Hun lager ...
If a time/place adverbial comes first → På søndag morgen lager hun ...

Why does Norwegian use simple present (lager, dekker) to mean “is making / are setting”?

Norwegian normally uses one present tense (presens) for both:

English simple present: She makes pancake batter on Sundays.
English present continuous: She is making pancake batter (right now).

Both are translated with lager in Norwegian:

Hun lager pannekakerøre. – can mean “She makes pancake batter” (habit)
– or “She is making pancake batter” (right now), depending on context.

The same with barna dekker bordet – it can be understood as “the children (are) set(ting) the table” without needing a special continuous form. Context and time expressions (like på søndag morgen) clarify the meaning.