Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse i blokken.

At home we change the battery in the smoke detector after each fire drill in the apartment building.

Breakdown of Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse i blokken.

• vi: we
• i: in
• etter: after
• hjemme: at home
• hver: each
• batteriet: the battery
• bytte: to change
• røykvarsleren: the smoke detector
• brannøvelsen: the fire drill
• blokken: the apartment building

Questions & Answers about Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse i blokken.

Why does the sentence start with Hjemme and then have bytter vi, instead of Vi bytter ... hjemme?

Norwegian is a V2 language (verb-second), which means the finite verb usually comes in second position in main clauses.

• Here, Hjemme (an adverbial of place) is put first to set the scene: “At home, ...”
• Because something other than the subject is first, the verb must still be second, so we get:
  • Hjemme bytter vi ... (Place – Verb – Subject)

You can absolutely say:

• Vi bytter batteri i røykvarsleren hjemme.

Both are correct.
Hjemme bytter vi ... puts more emphasis on at home as the context.
Vi bytter ... hjemme sounds more neutral and just adds “at home” as extra information at the end.

What is the nuance of Hjemme here? Could you also say I hjemmet or hos oss?

All three exist, but they don’t feel the same:

• Hjemme

  • Very common and neutral: at home (where I live).
  • Implies in our household, not a specific room.

• I hjemmet

  • More formal/literary, or used in institutional contexts: in the home.
  • You’d see it more in texts about family life, social work, etc., not normal daily speech.

• Hos oss

  • Literally “at our place”.
  • Often similar to hjemme (hos oss), but emphasises our house / our household a bit more.

For everyday spoken Norwegian in a sentence like this, Hjemme is by far the most natural.

Why is it batteri without any article, and not et batteri or batteriet?

Norwegian often uses a bare singular noun when talking about replacing / changing parts of something in a general way:

• bytte batteri (i noe) – to change the battery (in something)
• skifte dekk – to change tyres
• skifte olje – to change oil

So:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren ...
  ~ At home, we change the battery in the smoke detector ...

You could say batteriet if you want to single out a specific, already known battery:

• Vi bytter batteriet i røykvarsleren i stua.
  We change the battery in the smoke detector in the living room.

But in general instructions or habits, the bare form batteri is more natural.

Why is it i røykvarsleren in the definite form? Why not i en røykvarsler?

Røykvarsleren is definite (the smoke detector), because in context it’s typically a specific, known smoke detector in the home:

• the one in the apartment / in the hallway / in our flat, etc.

Patterns like:

• i bilen – in the car
• på kjøkkenet – in the kitchen
• i røykvarsleren – in the smoke detector

all assume speaker and listener know which object/place is meant.

If you say i en røykvarsler, it sounds like “in a smoke detector” – some random smoke detector, not the usual one at home. That would be unusual here for a habitual action.

What exactly does røykvarsleren consist of? How is this compound formed?

Røykvarsleren is a compound:

• røyk = smoke
• varsler = (a) warner / alarm / notifier
• røykvarsler = smoke alarm / smoke detector
• røykvarsler + en (definite ending) = røykvarsleren = the smoke detector

Grammatically:

• en røykvarsler (indefinite singular, masculine)
• røykvarsleren (definite singular)
• røykvarslere (indefinite plural)
• røykvarslerne (definite plural)

Why is the preposition i used both in i røykvarsleren and i blokken? Could you use på instead?

Here, i means “in / inside”:

• i røykvarsleren – in the smoke detector (inside the device)
• i blokken – in the block (inside that building)

Using på would change the meaning:

• på røykvarsleren – on the smoke detector (on its surface)
• på blokken – literally on the block (on top of it), which doesn’t fit the intended meaning.

For “living in a block”, both are possible depending on dialect/collocation:

• i blokka / blokken – in the apartment block (more literal “inside”)
• i denne blokka bor det mange barnefamilier.
• i leiegården is another option.

But i blokken is perfectly fine Bokmål for in the block (of flats), and i is the natural choice here.

What does etter hver brannøvelse literally mean, and why is hver used instead of something like alle?

Literally:

• etter = after
• hver = each / every
• brannøvelse = fire drill

So etter hver brannøvelse means after each fire drill / after every fire drill.

Why hver and not alle?

• hver brannøvelse = each / every fire drill (one by one, focusing on individual events)
• alle brannøvelsene = all the fire drills (as a group or total)

Here the idea is: every time there is a drill, we do this afterwards. That’s best expressed with hver:

• Vi gjør det etter hver brannøvelse.
  We do it after every fire drill (each time).

How is brannøvelse formed, and what are its plural forms?

Brannøvelse is a compound:

• brann = fire
• øvelse = exercise / drill
• brannøvelse = fire drill

Forms (Bokmål):

• en brannøvelse – one fire drill
• brannøvelsen – the fire drill
• brannøvelser – fire drills
• brannøvelsene – the fire drills

What does i blokken refer to? Is it the same as “in the apartment building”? And what about i blokka?

Yes, i blokken here is “in the block (of flats)”, i.e. in the apartment building.

• en blokk – a (housing) block, usually an apartment block
• blokken – the block (definite, more formal/standard Bokmål)
• blokka – the block (definite, more colloquial / spoken Bokmål)

So:

• i blokken – in the block (standard)
• i blokka – in the block (very common in speech and informal writing)

Both usually mean “in our apartment building” when the context is housing.

Why is the verb in the present tense (bytter) when the meaning is a repeated or habitual action?

In Norwegian, the simple present is normally used for:

• habits and routines
• general truths
• repeated actions over time

So:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri ... etter hver brannøvelse ...
  means “At home, we (always/usually) change the battery after each fire drill ...”

You don’t need a special construction; present tense alone carries the habitual meaning here, similar to English:

• English: We change the battery every year.
• Norwegian: Vi bytter batteri hvert år.

Could you use skifter instead of bytter? Is there any difference between bytte batteri and skifte batteri?

Both verbs can be used, and in many contexts they overlap:

• bytte batteri – change the battery
• skifte batteri – change the battery

Nuance (very slight and context‑dependent):

• bytte emphasises exchange / replacement (swap A for B).
• skifte often used for changing components / conditions:
  • skifte dekk – change tyres
  • skifte olje – change oil
  • skifte klær – change clothes

In your sentence, both are acceptable:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren ...
• Hjemme skifter vi batteri i røykvarsleren ...

Bytter is probably a bit more common in this exact context, but skifter wouldn’t sound wrong.

Can the word order in the middle be changed, for example: Hjemme bytter vi batteri etter hver brannøvelse i røykvarsleren i blokken? What sounds natural?

Norwegian word order is relatively flexible, but some orders are more natural.

Original:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse i blokken.

This follows a clear, logical sequence:

1. Where (home)
2. Action (change battery)
3. In what (in the smoke detector)
4. When (after each fire drill)
5. Where (in the block)

Your suggested:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri etter hver brannøvelse i røykvarsleren i blokken.

This is grammatically possible but sounds less natural, because “after each fire drill in the smoke detector” temporarily feels like the drill happens in the smoke detector. The listener has to re‑parse when i blokken comes.

More natural variants:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren i blokken etter hver brannøvelse.
• Hjemme bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse i blokken. (the original)

Both keep related information close together and avoid ambiguity.

Could you drop some words and still be correct, for example: Hjemme bytter vi batteri etter hver brannøvelse?

Yes, if the context is clear, you can shorten:

• Hjemme bytter vi batteri etter hver brannøvelse.
  • Implies: everyone already knows it’s about the smoke detector at home.

You can also reduce in other ways:

• Vi bytter batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse.
• I blokken bytter vi batteri i røykvarsleren etter hver brannøvelse.

What you keep or drop depends on what is already known in the conversation and what you want to emphasise. The full original sentence simply spells out all the relevant details in one go.