Breakdown of Barna får lov til å blåse ut stearinlyset, men bare én gang hver.
barnet
the child
men
but
hver
each
én
one
Questions & Answers about Barna får lov til å blåse ut stearinlyset, men bare én gang hver.
What does får lov til å mean exactly, and how is it different from just using kan?
Få lov til å literally means “to get permission to / to be allowed to”.
- Barna får lov til å blåse ut stearinlyset
= The children are allowed to blow out the candle.
If you use kan, the focus is more on ability or possibility, not on permission:
- Barna kan blåse ut stearinlyset
= The children can blow out the candle (they are able to / it’s possible).
You often use få lov til å when there is some authority or rule involved (parents, teachers, etc.) granting permission.
Why is it barna and not barn in this sentence?
Barn is an irregular noun in Norwegian:
- et barn = a child
- barn = children (indefinite plural – no article)
- barna = the children (definite plural – “the”)
So Barna får lov til ... means “The children are allowed to ...”, not just “children”.
If you said Barn får lov til ..., it would feel incomplete or very general, like “Children are allowed to ...” (in general), not specific children in a situation.
Why do we say å blåse ut and not just å blåse?