Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Datteren min sitter lenge i sandkassen og lager kaker av sand. - My daughter sits in the sandbox for a long time and makes cakes out of sand.

In everyday spoken Norwegian, it’s more common to put the possessive after the noun:
- datteren min, sønnen min, boka mi, huset vårt
Putting the possessive before (min datter) is:
- a bit more formal/literary, or
- used for emphasis (like stressing my daughter in contrast to someone else’s).

So the sentence uses the most natural, neutral everyday form: “Datteren min …”

What form of “datter” is “datteren”?

“Datteren” is the definite singular form of the noun datter (daughter).

Indefinite singular: en datter = a daughter
Definite singular: datteren = the daughter
With a possessive after it: datteren min = my (the) daughter

Norwegian usually marks definiteness with a suffix:

-en / -n (masculine/feminine): datteren, bilen, jenta
-et / -t (neuter): huset, bordet

Why is it “sitter” and not something like “er sittende” to mean “is sitting”?

Norwegian usually doesn’t use a special continuous form like English “is sitting”. Instead, it uses the simple present:

hun sitter = she sits / she is sitting

So “Datteren min sitter …” already means “My daughter is sitting …” in this context.
Forms like “er sittende” exist but are rare and sound formal or bookish; they are not used for normal, everyday progressive actions.

Why is there no word for “is” before “making”, like “is sitting … and making cakes”?

Norwegian doesn’t need an extra “is” (or other auxiliary) for the second verb.

sitter … og lager … literally: sits … and makes …
but it is understood as: is sitting … and (is) making …

In Norwegian:

One subject can have two verbs joined with “og” (and), without repeating “er” or another auxiliary.
English needs “is sitting and making”, but Norwegian is fine with “sitter og lager”.

What does “lenge” mean here, and how is it different from “lang”?

lenge is an adverb: for a long time
- Hun sitter lenge. = She sits for a long time.
lang is an adjective: long
- en lang dag = a long day
- en lang bok = a long book

So:

lenge describes how long an action lasts.
lang describes how long a thing is.

In the sentence, “sitter lenge” = is sitting for a long time.

Why is it “i sandkassen” and not “på sandkassen”?

“i” means “in/inside”, and “på” means “on (top of)”.

i sandkassen = in the sandbox (where the sand is, inside the box)
på sandkassen = on top of the sandbox (e.g. sitting on the edge, lid, or outer surface)

Because the child is playing in the sand itself, Norwegian uses “i sandkassen”.

What exactly is “sandkassen” grammatically?

“Sandkassen” is:

A compound noun:
- sand (sand) + kasse (box) → sandkasse (sandbox)
In the definite singular:
- sandkasse = a sandbox
- sandkassen = the sandbox

So “i sandkassen” = “in the sandbox” (a specific sandbox that is known from context).

Why is it “kaker” and not “kake” or “kakene”?

The noun kake (cake) has these forms:

en kake = a cake
kaker = cakes (indefinite plural)
kakene = the cakes (definite plural)

In the sentence, she is making several cakes, but they’re not specific cakes known in advance, so indefinite plural makes sense:

lager kaker (av sand) = makes cakes (out of sand)

If you said “lager kakene”, it would mean “is making the cakes”, referring to particular cakes already identified in the conversation.

What does “av” mean in “kaker av sand”, and why not “med”?

In this context:

av = out of / made of (material)
- en stol av tre = a chair made of wood
- et hus av stein = a house of stone
- kaker av sand = cakes made of sand

med usually means “with” (having/including something), not the base material:

en kake med sjokolade = a cake with chocolate (maybe on top or inside)
If you said kaker med sand, it would sound like cakes that have sand in/on them, not cakes made from sand.

So “av sand” is the natural choice for material: out of sand.

Could you also say “sandkaker” instead of “kaker av sand”?

You could, but it’s not a good idea here:

sandkaker is already a word in Norwegian: it’s a traditional type of cookie (small, shell-shaped butter cookies).
So “lager sandkaker” is normally understood as “making (baking) sandkaker cookies”, not playing with sand.

To describe a child’s play in a sandbox, “lager kaker av sand” is clear and natural: cakes made of sand.

Is the word order “sitter lenge i sandkassen” fixed, or could it be “sitter i sandkassen lenge”?

Both are grammatically possible:

Datteren min sitter lenge i sandkassen …
Datteren min sitter i sandkassen lenge …

The difference is subtle:

“sitter lenge i sandkassen” slightly emphasizes how long she sits.
“sitter i sandkassen lenge” sounds a bit more like emphasizing where she sits for a long time.

In normal speech, “sitter lenge i sandkassen” is very natural and probably the most common version.

How do you pronounce “datteren” and “sandkassen”?

Approximate pronunciations (Standard East Norwegian):

datteren: [DAHT-te-ren]
- da like da in dark (short)
- tt is a clear t sound
- final -en is like a light en, often a bit reduced.
sandkassen: [SAHND-kas-sen]
- sand like English sand but with shorter vowel
- kk in kassen is a strong k (no aspiration, quite short vowel)
- final -en again is a light en.

Stress is on the first syllable in both words: DAtteren, SANDkassen.