Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Foreldrene synes at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem. - The parents think that the mobile phone use at home has become a problem.

Foreldrene synes at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem.

The parents think that the mobile phone use at home has become a problem.

Breakdown of Foreldrene synes at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Norwegian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Norwegian now

Questions & Answers about Foreldrene synes at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem.

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

Synes means to think / to be of the opinion, usually based on personal experience, feelings or impressions.

Foreldrene synes at …
= The parents think that … / feel that … / are of the opinion that …

Tror is more like to believe / to think (that something is true), often when you don’t know for sure or you’re guessing.

Examples:

Jeg synes filmen er bra.
I think the movie is good. (my opinion)
Jeg tror han kommer i morgen.
I think he’s coming tomorrow. (my guess / belief about a fact)

In this sentence, the parents are giving their opinion about mobile phone use at home, so synes is the natural choice.

Why is it Foreldrene and not just Foreldre?

Foreldre means parents (plural, indefinite).

Foreldrene means the parents (plural, definite). The ending -ne is the definite plural ending for many nouns.

foreldre = parents
foreldrene = the parents

Norwegian usually uses the definite form when you’re talking about specific people already known in the context:

Foreldrene synes at …
The parents think that … (those particular parents, not just parents in general)

If you were making a general statement about parents as a group, you might say:

Foreldre synes ofte at mobilbruk hjemme er et problem.
Parents often think that mobile use at home is a problem.

What is mobilbruken exactly, and why is it in the definite form?

Mobilbruk is a compound noun:

mobil = mobile phone
bruk = use, usage

So mobilbruk = mobile phone use / use of mobile phones.

When you add the definite ending -en, you get:

mobilbruk (indefinite) = mobile phone use
mobilbruken (definite) = the mobile phone use / the phone use

In the sentence mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem, we are talking about the mobile use at home in this family’s situation, not mobile use in general. That is why the definite form mobilbruken is used.

Could you also say bruk av mobil instead of mobilbruk?

Yes, you can say bruk av mobil:

mobilbruk = mobile phone use (one word, compact, very natural)
bruk av mobil = use of mobile (more descriptive, a bit less compact)

Both are correct, but compounds like mobilbruk are more typical in everyday Norwegian.

You could say:

Foreldrene synes at bruk av mobil hjemme har blitt et problem.

This is understandable and correct, but mobilbruken hjemme sounds more idiomatic and natural.

What does hjemme mean here, and why is there no preposition like i?

Hjemme means at home. It’s a single adverb, not a noun with a preposition.

hjemme = at home
hjem = (to) home (direction)

So you say:

Jeg er hjemme. = I am at home.
Jeg drar hjem. = I am going home.

In the sentence, hjemme describes where the mobile phone use happens:

mobilbruken hjemme = the mobile phone use at home

You do not say i hjemme; that would be incorrect. You could, more formally, say i hjemmet (in the home), but hjemme is the natural everyday choice.

Why is it har blitt and not just ble or er?

Har blitt is the present perfect tense of bli (to become):

har = have (auxiliary verb)
blitt = past participle of bli

Har blitt expresses that something has become and that this change is relevant to the present:

… har blitt et problem.
… has become a problem. (It wasn’t a problem before, but now it is.)

Alternatives:

ble et problem = became a problem (simple past, more about the time in the past)
er et problem = is a problem (just a current state, no focus on the change)

So har blitt nicely captures the idea of has turned into / has become.

Why is it et problem and not en problem?

In Norwegian, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Problem is a neuter noun, so it takes et in the indefinite singular:

et problem = a problem (neuter, indefinite)
problemet = the problem (neuter, definite)

If it were masculine, it would be en:

en stol = a chair (masculine)
stolen = the chair

But problem is neuter, so et is correct.

Why is mobilbruken definite, but problem is indefinite (et problem)?

The speaker is talking about:

a specific, known usage (the way mobiles are used at home right now)
but the type of thing this usage has become is a problem (one problem among many possible problems)

So we have:

mobilbruken hjemme = the mobile use at home (this concrete, known situation)
et problem = a problem (it has taken on the character of a problem)

This pattern is very normal in Norwegian and English:

The situation has become a problem.
Situasjonen har blitt et problem.

Known, concrete thing in definite; new classification in indefinite.

Is at in synes at mobilbruken … the same as English that, and can it be left out?

Yes, at here works like English that introducing a subordinate clause:

Foreldrene synes at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem.
= The parents think that the mobile use at home has become a problem.

In spoken Norwegian, at is often dropped when the clause is easy to understand:

Foreldrene synes mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem.

This is very common and natural in speech and informal writing. In more formal writing, you are more likely to keep at, but leaving it out is still widely accepted in many contexts.

Can I change the word order and say Foreldrene synes at hjemme har mobilbruken blitt et problem?

That word order is not natural in Norwegian.

Inside the at‑clause (at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem), the main verb normally comes in the second position, but the subject still comes before the verb when there is no inversion trigger:

Subject: mobilbruken
Adverbial: hjemme
Auxiliary verb: har
Main verb: blitt
Predicate: et problem

So the natural order is:

at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem

You can move hjemme a little:

at mobilbruken har blitt et problem hjemme (also possible, but slightly different emphasis)

But at hjemme har mobilbruken blitt et problem sounds marked and strange here.

Can I say Foreldrene synes det har blitt et problem med mobilbruken hjemme instead?

Yes, that is also correct and very natural:

Foreldrene synes det har blitt et problem med mobilbruken hjemme.
= The parents think it has become a problem with the mobile use at home.

Here you have:

det as a dummy subject (it)
et problem med mobilbruken hjemme as a complement (a problem with the mobile use at home)

Both sentences are good Norwegian:

Foreldrene synes at mobilbruken hjemme har blitt et problem.
Foreldrene synes det har blitt et problem med mobilbruken hjemme.

The meaning is essentially the same; (2) sounds a little more like there’s a problem with ….

How do you pronounce Foreldrene, synes, mobilbruken, and hjemme?

Approximate pronunciations (Standard Eastern Norwegian):

Foreldrene ≈ /fɔˈɾɛldɾəne/
- stress on -reld-: fo‑RELD‑re‑ne
synes ≈ /ˈsyːnəs/ or /ˈsyːnəs/ ~ /ˈsʏnəs/
- y is like a French u in lune or German ü in für
mobilbruken ≈ /muˈbiːlˌbrʉːkən/
- mobil: mo‑BEEL
- bruken: BRUː‑ken, with u like German ü
hjemme ≈ /ˈjɛmə/
- hj is pronounced like y in yes
- je like ye in yes: YEM‑meh

Is mobilbruk always written as one word? Why not mobil bruk?

In Norwegian, compound nouns are typically written as one word:

mobil
- bruk → mobilbruk

Writing mobil bruk (two words) would normally be seen as incorrect or at least odd in standard writing, because it looks like an adjective + noun structure rather than a single concept.

More examples of compounds:

hjemmearbeid (homework / work from home)
barnehage (kindergarten; literally child + garden)
mobiltelefon (mobile phone)

So yes, mobilbruk should be written as one word.