Barna sitter på jorden og leker.

The children sit on the ground and play.

Breakdown of Barna sitter på jorden og leker.

• barnet: the child
• og: and
• på: on
• leke: to play
• sitte: to sit
• jorden: the soil

Questions & Answers about Barna sitter på jorden og leker.

Why is it barna and not just barn?

Because barna means “the children” (definite plural), while barn on its own means simply “children / a child” depending on context.

• barn = child / children (indefinite)
• barna = the children (definite plural)

Norwegian usually marks “the” at the end of the noun, not as a separate word in front, so barna already includes “the” inside it.

So what is the full pattern for the noun barn?

barn is a neuter noun with an irregular plural:

• Singular indefinite: et barn – a child
• Singular definite: barnet – the child
• Plural indefinite: barn – children
• Plural definite: barna – the children

So here, Barna = The children.

Why isn’t it barnene for “the children”? I see a lot of plurals with -ene.

Many nouns do use -ene for the definite plural (e.g. bøker → bøkene, stoler → stolene).
But barn is irregular:

• normal pattern would be: barn (pl) → barnene (the children)
• actual Norwegian: barn (pl) → barna (the children)

You just have to memorize that “barn → barna” is special and common.

Why does sitter translate as both “sit” and “are sitting”?

Norwegian only has one present tense form; it’s used for both:

• Barna sitter på jorden og leker.
  = The children sit on the ground and play.
  = The children are sitting on the ground and playing.

Context decides whether you understand it as habitual (they usually sit there) or ongoing (right now). There is no separate continuous form like English “are sitting”.

Could the sentence also mean “The children sit on the ground and play (in general / usually)”?

Yes. Without extra context, it can be:

• ongoing now: “The children are sitting on the ground and playing.”
• habitual: “The children sit on the ground and play (there).”

Norwegian present tense covers both possibilities; you choose the English translation based on context or what you want to emphasize.

What does jorden mean exactly? Is it “ground” or “Earth”?

jord means earth / soil / ground.

The definite form jorden (or jorda) can mean:

• the ground / the soil in a physical sense
• the Earth (the planet), especially when capitalized as Jorden

In your sentence, på jorden = on the ground.
If it meant the planet, you’d normally see it capitalized: på Jorden = on Earth.

Why is it jorden and not just jord?

Because the English meaning is “the ground”, and Norwegian normally marks definiteness on the noun:

• jord = ground / soil (indefinite, general)
• jorden / jorda = the ground / the soil (definite)

So på jorden literally is “on the ground.”

Is there a difference between jorden and jorda?

They are two accepted definite forms of jord in Bokmål:

• jorden – more “written standard”
• jorda – more colloquial / often more common in speech

Both can mean “the ground” or “the Earth.” In this sentence, på jorden and på jorda mean the same thing.

Why is the preposition på used in på jorden? Could it be i jorden?

• på jorden literally means “on the ground” (on the surface).
• i jorden would mean “in the earth / in the soil” (inside it, like planting something).

So for children sitting on top of the ground, på jorden is the natural choice.

Could we say Barna sitter på gulvet og leker instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, and it changes the meaning slightly:

• på jorden = on the ground / on the earth (outdoors, or literally on soil)
• på gulvet = on the floor (indoors, on a floor surface)

So:

• Barna sitter på jorden og leker. → The children are outside on the ground.
• Barna sitter på gulvet og leker. → The children are inside, on the floor.

What is the difference between leker and spiller for “play”?

Both can translate as “play”, but they are used differently:

• leke / leker is for children playing, imaginative play, free play
  
  • Barna leker i hagen. – The children are playing in the garden.
• spille / spiller is for games with rules, sports, and instruments
  
  • spille fotball – play football
  • spille gitar – play guitar
  • spille sjakk – play chess

In your sentence, children are playing in a general, childlike way, so leker is the correct verb.

Why don’t we repeat barna before leker (like “Barna sitter ... og barna leker”)?

Norwegian, like English, avoids repeating the same subject if it’s shared by both verbs:

• Barna sitter på jorden og leker.
  Literally: The children sit on the ground and [the children] play.

The subject Barna is understood to apply to both sitter and leker, so repeating it would sound unnatural unless you wanted special emphasis.

Is the word order fixed? Could we say Barna leker og sitter på jorden instead?

You can change the order, but it slightly changes the emphasis:

• Barna sitter på jorden og leker.
  → Focus: they are sitting on the ground, and (while sitting) they’re playing.
• Barna leker og sitter på jorden.
  → Sounds more like two separate actions: they play, and they sit on the ground. It’s a bit odd unless context makes it clear.

The original version is the most natural if you mean that they’re sitting on the ground while playing.

Why is it Barna sitter and not Barna er sitter like “The children are sitting”?

Norwegian doesn’t use “to be” + -ing for progressive actions.

You just use the main verb:

• Barna sitter. = The children are sitting.
• Jeg spiser. = I am eating.
• Vi leser. = We are reading.

Adding er would be incorrect here: ✗ Barna er sitter is wrong. The verb sitter alone already covers the idea of “are sitting.”