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Teaterstykket handler om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter.

Teaterstykket handler om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter.
The play is about a family where everyone hides secrets.

Breakdown of Teaterstykket handler om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter.

en
a
familien
the family
alle
everyone
der
where
skjule
to hide
hemmeligheten
the secret
handle om
to be about
teaterstykket
the play
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Questions & Answers about Teaterstykket handler om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter.

What does Teaterstykket mean, and how is it formed?

Teaterstykket is a compound noun:

  • teater = theatre
  • stykke = piece

Together teaterstykke literally means theatre piece, i.e. a (stage) play.

It’s a neuter noun:

  • indefinite singular: et teaterstykke = a play
  • definite singular: teaterstykket = the play
  • indefinite plural: teaterstykker = plays
  • definite plural: teaterstykkene = the plays

In the sentence, Teaterstykket means The play.

Why is it Teaterstykket and not et teaterstykke?

Norwegian, like English, uses the definite form when we talk about a specific play that is known from context.

Compare:

  • Jeg så et teaterstykke i går. Teaterstykket handler om en familie …
    = I saw a play yesterday. The play is about a family …

The first mention is indefinite (et teaterstykke), the second is definite (teaterstykket).

So Teaterstykket handler om … corresponds to The play is about …, not A play is about ….

What does handler om mean here, and why can’t we say er om?

The verb å handle has several meanings:

  1. å handle (alone) = to shop

    • Jeg handler hver lørdag. = I shop every Saturday.

  2. å handle (about people) = to take action

    • Vi må handle nå. = We must act now.

  3. å handle om = to be about / to be concerned with / to deal with (as a topic)

    • Boka handler om kjærlighet. = The book is about love.
    • Filmen handler om krigen. = The film is about the war.
    • Teaterstykket handler om en familie … = The play is about a family …

In this “topic” meaning, you always say handler om, never er om.
✗ Teaterstykket er om en familie … is ungrammatical in Norwegian.

How does the word order work in Teaterstykket handler om en familie …?

Norwegian main clauses normally follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here: handler) must be in second position in the sentence.

In Teaterstykket handler om en familie …:

  1. Teaterstykket = first element (subject)
  2. handler = finite verb (in second position)
  3. om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter = the rest of the predicate

If you move something else to the front, the verb still stays second:

  • I stykket handler det om en familie …
    (In the play, it is about a family …)

In the relative clause der alle skjuler hemmeligheter, V2 does not apply; there the order is simply:

  • der (subordinator) + alle (subject) + skjuler (verb) + hemmeligheter (object)
Why is it en familie and not familien?

en familie = a family (indefinite)
familien = the family (definite)

Here, en familie is:

  • either the first mention of this family (we haven’t identified which family it is yet), or
  • a more general, “typical” family: a family (of the type) where everyone hides secrets.

If the specific family were already known, you could say:

  • Teaterstykket handler om familien Hansen.
    = The play is about the Hansen family.

So the choice between en familie and familien works much like a family vs the family in English.

What exactly is der doing in en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter, and how is it different from som and hvor?

Here der introduces a relative clause and roughly means where / in which:

  • en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter
    = a family where everyone hides secrets

Basic differences:

  • som

    • relative pronoun: who / that / which
    • links directly to the noun
    • example: en familie som skjuler hemmeligheter
      = a family that hides secrets

  • der

    • relative adverb: where / in which, often tied to a place or situation
    • common after words like sted (place), by (town), but also more abstractly after familie, situasjon, etc.
    • example: et hus der ingen bor = a house where nobody lives

  • hvor

    • mainly where in direct or indirect questions:
      • Hvor bor du? = Where do you live?
      • Jeg vet ikke hvor han bor. = I don’t know where he lives.
    • As a relative, hvor after a noun is possible in modern usage (en familie hvor alle skjuler hemmeligheter) but many style guides prefer der in this function.

So in this sentence, der is a natural way to say where in a relative clause referring back to en familie.

Can we just replace der with som in this sentence?

Not without changing the structure.

Possible and natural options:

  1. Teaterstykket handler om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter.
    = the play is about a family where everyone hides secrets.

  2. Teaterstykket handler om en familie hvor alle skjuler hemmeligheter.
    (also used; similar meaning)

  3. Teaterstykket handler om en familie som skjuler hemmeligheter.
    = the play is about a family that hides secrets.
    Here you drop alle, and som is directly linked to familie.

But:

  • ✗ en familie som alle skjuler hemmeligheter is not good Norwegian; som doesn’t fit naturally before alle in this structure.

So you can use som, but then the relative clause is som skjuler hemmeligheter, not som alle skjuler hemmeligheter.

Why is hemmeligheter in the plural with no article?

The noun hemmelighet (secret) has these forms:

  • en hemmelighet = a secret
  • hemmeligheten = the secret
  • hemmeligheter = secrets
  • hemmelighetene = the secrets

In the sentence we have hemmeligheter:

  • plural
  • indefinite (no article in Norwegian plural)

alle skjuler hemmeligheter ≈ everyone hides secrets.
It suggests there are secrets in general, without specifying exactly which or how many.

Other possibilities, with different nuances:

  • alle skjuler en hemmelighet
    = everyone hides a secret (each person has at least one, more “one each” feeling)
  • alle skjuler hemmelighetene
    = everyone hides the secrets (a specific set of secrets already known in the context)
What is the difference between å skjule and å gjemme?

Both can translate as to hide, but they are used somewhat differently.

å skjule:

  • more formal / abstract: to conceal, to keep hidden (often emotionally or metaphorically)
  • å skjule sannheten = to conceal the truth
  • å skjule følelsene sine = to hide one’s feelings
  • å skjule hemmeligheter = to conceal secrets

å gjemme:

  • more concrete / physical: to put something somewhere so it can’t be found
  • å gjemme nøklene = to hide the keys
  • å gjemme seg = to hide (oneself), e.g. in a game

You can sometimes use either, but skjule hemmeligheter sounds very natural because secrets are something you conceal, not physically stash away.

Why are the verbs handler and skjuler in the present tense?

Norwegian (like English) often uses the present tense to talk about the content of books, films, plays, etc.:

  • Boka handler om … = The book is about …
  • Filmen slutter brått. = The film ends abruptly.
  • Teaterstykket handler om en familie der alle skjuler hemmeligheter.
    = The play is about a family where everyone hides secrets.

This is sometimes called the “literary present”.
Even if the play was written long ago, its content is seen as something that still exists, so present tense is natural here.

In der alle skjuler hemmeligheter, what is the subject of skjuler?

The subject is alle.

  • alle = everyone / all (people)
  • skjuler = hides / conceal
  • hemmeligheter = secrets

So alle skjuler hemmeligheter literally means everyone hides secrets.

You don’t need an extra pronoun de (they); alle itself functions as the subject:

  • Alle kommer. = Everyone is coming.
  • Alle skjuler hemmeligheter. = Everyone hides secrets.