Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene. - The children are not used to doing homework alone.

The word barn = child / children (it’s a neuter noun with the same form in singular and plural: et barn, to barn).
To make it definite plural (the children), you add -a: barna = the children.

So:

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

Could you say barnene instead of barna?

In standard written Bokmål, barna is the normal and recommended form for the children.

Barnene is sometimes heard in speech and used in some dialects, but many teachers and grammar books will either:

mark barnene as non-standard / dialectal, or
say it is less common and should usually be avoided in formal writing.

For learners, it’s safest to stick with barna in written Norwegian.

Why is it er ikke vant and not ikke er vant?

Norwegian has a fairly strict word order in simple main clauses:

Subject – Verb – ikke – Rest

So we get:

Barna er ikke vant ... = The children are not used ...

Putting ikke before the verb (Barna ikke er vant ...) is not correct in this kind of sentence.

You might see ikke before the verb in questions or subordinate clauses with inversion, e.g.:

Er barna ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene? – Are the children not used to doing homework alone?
... at barna ikke er vant til å gjøre lekser alene. – ... that the children are not used to doing homework alone.

What exactly does vant til mean? Is it like used to in English?

Vant til means accustomed to / used to (something) – it describes familiarity or comfort with a situation.

In English, there are two different used to structures:

be used to doing something (accustomed)
- They are not used to doing homework alone.
- Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
used to do something (past habit)
- They used to do homework alone (before, but not now).
- In Norwegian, this is not vant til. You’d say:
  - De pleide å gjøre lekser alene.

So vant til å gjøre corresponds to be used to doing, not used to do (past habit).

Why do we need til in vant til å gjøre? Can I say vant å gjøre?

The expression is vant til; the preposition til is part of the phrase.

å være vant til noe = to be used to something
å være vant til å gjøre noe = to be used to doing something

In standard Bokmål you need the til before an infinitive:

✅ Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
❌ Barna er ikke vant å gjøre lekser alene. (unidiomatic/wrong in standard usage)

You might hear vant å in some spoken varieties, but for correct, standard Norwegian, keep til: vant til å ...

What is the role of å in å gjøre?

Å is the infinitive marker, like to in English:

gjøre = do
å gjøre = to do

So the structure is:

vant til å gjøre = used to doing / accustomed to doing

You cannot drop å here; it’s required when using the infinitive:

✅ til å gjøre
❌ til gjøre

Why is lekser plural? Doesn’t homework in English usually behave like an uncountable noun?

Yes, in English homework is usually uncountable, but in Norwegian it’s normally plural:

en lekse = a homework assignment / an exercise
lekser = homework (in general, usually spoken of in the plural)

So å gjøre lekser is the natural, idiomatic way to say to do homework.

You could talk about a specific assignment:

å gjøre én lekse / denne leksa – to do one piece of homework / this homework task

But in a general sentence like this, lekser is standard.

Could I say å gjøre leksene instead of å gjøre lekser?

You could, but it changes the nuance:

å gjøre lekser = to do homework (general activity, not specific which)
å gjøre leksene = to do the homework (some specific homework already known in the context)

Often you’d make it clearly possessive when you mean their specific homework:

å gjøre leksene sine = to do their homework

In your sentence, Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene, the idea is in general:
The children are not used to doing homework alone (as an activity), so lekser is perfect.

What does alene add, and where can it appear in the sentence?

Alene means alone / by oneself / by themselves. Here:

å gjøre lekser alene = to do homework alone / by themselves

About placement: Norwegian adverbs and adverb-like words are fairly flexible, but you usually keep them after the verb phrase they modify. Natural options include:

Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser helt alene. (adds emphasis: entirely alone)

Putting alene earlier, e.g. Barna er ikke vant til alene å gjøre lekser, is grammatically possible but sounds stiff and unusual in everyday language. The original position is the most idiomatic.

How would I say this sentence in the past, like were not used to doing?

You only need to change the verb er (are) to var (were). Everything else stays the same:

Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
= The children are not used to doing homework alone.
Barna var ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
= The children were not used to doing homework alone.

The expression vant til å gjøre itself doesn’t change; the tense is carried by er/var.

Is there a difference between ikke vant til and uvant med?

They’re related in meaning, but not identical:

ikke vant til = not used to / not accustomed to
- Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
uvant med = unfamiliar with / not accustomed to, often with a slightly stronger feeling of strangeness or lack of experience
- Barna er uvant med å gjøre lekser alene.

In many contexts you can use either, but:

ikke vant til is a bit more neutral and very common.
uvant med can highlight that something feels strange or new.

Both sound natural here, but learners will encounter vant til å gjøre very frequently, so it’s especially useful to master.

Why is the word order Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene and not, for example, Barna er vant til ikke å gjøre lekser alene?

The usual structure is:

Subject – Verb – ikke – adjective phrase / complement

So:

Barna (subject)
er (verb)
ikke (negation)
vant til å gjøre lekser alene (predicate/description)

If you say Barna er vant til ikke å gjøre lekser alene, you change the meaning:

Barna er ikke vant til å gjøre lekser alene.
= They are not used to doing homework alone.
Barna er vant til ikke å gjøre lekser alene.
= They are used to not doing homework alone (they are used to doing it with someone).

So the original sentence places ikke before vant to negate the state of being used to, not the action of doing homework alone itself.