Barna liker dyret.

The children like the animal.

Breakdown of Barna liker dyret.

• barnet: the child
• like: to like
• dyret: the animal

Questions & Answers about Barna liker dyret.

What exactly does barna mean, and how is it related to barn?

Barn means child (or kid) in general.

It’s a neuter noun with these main forms:

• et barn = a child
• barn = children (indefinite plural) or child (indefinite singular in general statements)
• barnet = the child
• barna = the children

So barna literally means the children. It is barn + the definite plural ending -a.

Why is there no separate word for the in barna and dyret?

In Norwegian, the definite article (the) is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front, like in English.

• dyr = animal
• dyret = the animal (dyr
  • -et)
• barn = children
• barna = the children (barn
  • -a)

So in Barna liker dyret., the the part is “hidden inside” barna and dyret.

How do I say “a child,” “children,” “the children,” “an animal,” “animals,” and “the animals” in Norwegian?

For barn (child/children):

• et barn = a child
• barn = children (indefinite plural)
• barnet = the child
• barna = the children

For dyr (animal):

• et dyr = an animal
• dyr = animals (indefinite plural)
• dyret = the animal
• dyra / dyrene = the animals (both forms are used; dyrene is more standard/formal, dyra more colloquial in many places)

So Barna liker dyret. = The children like the animal.

Why is it barna and not something like barnene?

Some neuter nouns form the definite plural with -a instead of -ene. Barn is one of these:

• barn → barna (the children), not barnene

For many other nouns, you will see -ene:

• en gutt (a boy) → guttene (the boys)
• en stol (a chair) → stolene (the chairs)

So the pattern for barn is irregular compared to many common masculine/feminine nouns, and you simply have to memorize barna as the children.

What is the basic word order in Barna liker dyret.? Can I change it?

The basic word order is Subject – Verb – Object, just like in English:

• Barna (Subject)
• liker (Verb)
• dyret (Object)

So it parallels English: The children like the animal.

If you change the order of barna and dyret:

• Dyret liker barna. = The animal likes the children.

The meaning changes, because Norwegian relies strongly on word order (there are no case endings on nouns to show subject vs object).

Could Barna liker dyret. also mean “The animal likes the children”?

No. In Barna liker dyret., barna is the subject and dyret is the object:

• Barna = the children (doing the liking)
• dyret = the animal (being liked)

If you want to say The animal likes the children, you must say:

• Dyret liker barna.

Norwegian does not change the form of the noun to indicate subject vs object; it uses word order to show who is doing what to whom.

Why is the verb liker the same form with barna (the children)? Shouldn’t it change like “I like / he likes”?

Norwegian verbs do not change for person or number. The present tense form is the same for all subjects:

• jeg liker = I like
• du liker = you like
• han / hun liker = he / she likes
• vi liker = we like
• dere liker = you (plural) like
• de liker = they like

So with barna (the children), it’s also:

• Barna liker dyret. = The children like the animal.

There is no special -s form like English likes.

How do I say “The children are liking the animal” or show that it’s happening right now? Is there a progressive form?

Norwegian normally uses the simple present for both:

• general habits
• actions happening right now

So:

• Barna liker dyret.

can mean:

• The children like the animal. (in general)
• The children like the animal (right now).

If you really want to stress that it is happening right now, you can add a time expression:

• Barna liker dyret nå. = The children like the animal now.

Norwegian does have constructions like holder på å + infinitive, but those are used differently and not with å like in this simple sense. For this verb, you just use liker.

Do I need a preposition after liker, like in “like to” or “like of”?

No. Like in Norwegian is simply å like, and it takes its object directly, with no preposition:

• Barna liker dyret. = The children like the animal.
• Jeg liker kaffe. = I like coffee.
• Hun liker musikk. = She likes music.

If you want to say you like doing something, you use å before the infinitive of the second verb:

• Barna liker å leke. = The children like to play.
• Jeg liker å lese. = I like to read.

But even there, there is no extra preposition like of or about.

How do I say “The children do not like the animal” in Norwegian?

You negate the verb with ikke (not). The position is:

Subject – Verb – ikke – Object

So:

• Barna liker ikke dyret.
  = The children do not like the animal.

More examples with the same pattern:

• Jeg liker ikke kaffe. = I do not like coffee.
• Vi liker ikke filmen. = We do not like the movie.

How do I turn Barna liker dyret. into a yes–no question: “Do the children like the animal?”?

For a yes–no question, Norwegian usually moves the verb in front of the subject:

Verb – Subject – Object

So:

• Liker barna dyret?
  = Do the children like the animal?

Spoken, this will normally be understood as a question by word order and intonation even without a question mark, but in writing, include ?.

Another example:

• Du liker kaffe. = You like coffee.
• Liker du kaffe? = Do you like coffee?

How do I pronounce barna, liker, and dyret?

Approximate pronunciations (using English-like spelling):

• barna ≈ BAR-na

  • ba like bar in bar
  • r lightly tapped (a quick single r, not the English are)
  • na like nah
  • The rn often merges into a single “retroflex n” sound in many accents, but you can safely say r
    • n as a learner.

• liker ≈ LEE-ker

  • li like lee (long ee sound)
  • ke like keh with a very short, weak vowel (a kind of uh sound)
  • Final r is usually pronounced, but in some dialects it may be very weak or disappear.

• dyret ≈ DYU-reh

  • dy is like the German ü or French u:
    
    • say ee and round your lips as if saying oo.
  • re like reh with a weak e
  • Final t is often very light or almost silent in casual speech, depending on dialect.

You don’t need perfect pronunciation to be understood; if you get close to BAR-na LEE-ker DYU-reh, most Norwegians will understand you.