Barna sitter i sanden og leker.

The children sit in the sand and play.

Breakdown of Barna sitter i sanden og leker.

• barnet: the child
• i: in
• og: and
• leke: to play
• sitte: to sit
• sanden: the sand

Questions & Answers about Barna sitter i sanden og leker.

What does Barna literally mean, and how is it formed from barn?

Barn means child (or children in the plural). It is a neuter noun with an irregular plural. Its forms are:

• et barn – a child (indefinite singular)
• barnet – the child (definite singular)
• barn – children (indefinite plural)
• barna – the children (definite plural)

So Barna literally means the children. The definite article “the” is attached as a suffix -a instead of being a separate word.

Why is it Barna and not Barnene?

Many Norwegian neuter nouns with an -n in the stem form their definite plural with -a, not -ene. Barn is one of these irregular nouns.

• You never say barnene in standard Norwegian.
• Correct: barna = the children.

A more regular neuter noun would look like:

• et hus – a house
• hus – houses
• husene – the houses

But barn is irregular, so its definite plural is barna, not barnene.

Why is sitter used, and not something like er sitter to mean “are sitting”?

In Norwegian, you usually do not use er (am/are/is) together with another present-tense verb to make a progressive form.

• Barna sitter = The children are sitting
• You do not say Barna er sitter – that is ungrammatical.

The verb sitte itself carries the present meaning when conjugated as sitter, so adding er is unnecessary and wrong in standard Norwegian.

Why does Norwegian use sitter and leker (simple present) where English uses “are sitting” and “are playing”?

Norwegian normally uses the simple present to describe actions happening right now as well as habitual actions.

• Barna sitter i sanden og leker.
  = The children are sitting in the sand and playing (right now).
  = also structurally similar to The children sit in the sand and play.

There is a progressive form in Norwegian (holder på å sitte, er i ferd med å sitte, etc.), but it’s used much less often than English be + -ing, and it sounds more marked or wordy. For everyday ongoing actions, the simple present (sitter, leker) is the normal choice.

What’s the difference between å sitte and sitter?

• å sitte – the infinitive, to sit
• sitter – present tense, sit / am sitting / are sitting / is sitting

Similarly for å leke (to play) and leker (play / are playing).

What does i mean here, and could you also say på sanden?

Here i literally means in, so i sanden is in the sand.

Preposition choice is partly idiomatic:

• i sanden emphasizes being in the sand, physically in contact with / partly surrounded by the sand (e.g. sitting down in it).
• på sanden (on the sand) is also possible and natural, especially if you imagine being on top of a sandy surface (like a beach).

Both can work, but i sanden is very common when talking about children actually sitting down playing in the sand.

Why is it sanden and not just sand?

Sand is a noun meaning sand. In this sentence we refer to specific sand, like the sand in the sandbox / on the beach, so it’s in the definite form:

• sand – sand (indefinite)
• sanden – the sand (definite singular, masculine form in Bokmål)

In Norwegian, the definite article “the” is usually attached as a suffix:

• en stol – a chair
• stolen – the chair

Similarly:

• sand – sand
• sanden – the sand

So i sanden = in the sand.

What is the difference between sanden and sanda?

Sand can be masculine (en sand) or feminine (ei sand) in Bokmål.

• Masculine: en sand – sanden
• Feminine: ei sand – sanda

Standard written Bokmål often prefers the masculine form (sanden), but sanda is also correct if you consistently treat sand as a feminine noun.

So:

• i sanden – in the sand (masculine form)
• i sanda – in the sand (feminine form)

Both are grammatically correct, though sanden is more neutral/standard in many contexts.

What does leker mean, and how do I know it’s the verb “play” and not the noun “toys”?

Norwegian leke has both a verb and a noun meaning:

• Verb: å leke – to play

  • leker (present) – (he/she/they) play / are playing

• Noun: en leke – a toy

  • leker (indefinite plural) – toys

In this sentence, leker must be a verb because:

1. It comes after the conjunction og linking two verbs: sitter and leker.
2. The structure [subject] + [verb] + og + [verb] is normal: Barna sitter … og leker.

If leker were the noun toys, we’d expect an article or determiner: leker, lekene, noen leker, etc., in a different sentence structure.

Could the word order also be Barna sitter og leker i sanden? If so, is there a difference?

Yes, you can also say:

• Barna sitter og leker i sanden.

Both sentences are grammatical and natural:

1. Barna sitter i sanden og leker.
   – Slight emphasis that they sit in the sand, and while doing so, they play.

2. Barna sitter og leker i sanden.
   – Slight emphasis on the two activities (sit and play) as a pair, both occurring in the sand.

The difference in meaning is very subtle; in many contexts they are interchangeable.

Why is there no comma before og leker?

In Norwegian, you usually do not put a comma before og when it links two verbs that share the same subject in one clause.

• Barna sitter i sanden og leker.
  Subject: Barna
  Verbs: sitter and leker
  One clause → no comma.

You might have a comma before og if it introduces a new main clause or is part of a list where Norwegian comma rules require it, but not in a simple structure like this with one shared subject.

How would this sentence change if there were only one child?

If there is one child, you use the singular forms:

• Barnet sitter i sanden og leker.
  = The child is sitting in the sand and playing.

Changes:

• Barna (the children) → Barnet (the child)
• sitter stays the same (same form for singular and plural)
• i sanden and leker stay the same as well, because the present tense verb form does not change with number in Norwegian.

How are the words in Barna sitter i sanden og leker pronounced?

In a common Eastern Norwegian pronunciation (approximate):

• Barna – [ˈbɑːɳɑ]
  Roughly: BAR-nah (with a retroflex “rn” sound)

• sitter – [ˈsɪtːər]
  Roughly: SIT-ter (short i as in sit, double t is a clear, strong t)

• i – [iː]
  Roughly: long ee as in see

• sanden – [ˈsɑnːən]
  Roughly: SAHN-den (short a like in British son; double n makes the n sound a bit longer)

• og – [uː] (often just u in speech)
  Roughly: long oo as in food

• leker – [ˈleːkər]
  Roughly: LAY-ker (long e like lay, then a light ker)

Spoken together, it might sound like:
BAR-nah SIT-ter ee SAHN-den oo LAY-ker.