Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Studentene får et oppgaveark med setninger de skal oversette hjemme. - The students get a worksheet with sentences they shall translate at home.

In this sentence, the teacher is talking about a specific, known group (the students in the class), so Norwegian uses Studentene (“the students”) rather than just studenter (“students” in general).

Why is the article et used before oppgaveark?

Et is the neuter indefinite article in Norwegian. Nouns have grammatical gender:

en = common gender (formerly masculine/feminine)
et = neuter

Ark (sheet) is a neuter noun: et ark.
The compound oppgaveark (“worksheet”, literally “task-sheet”) inherits the gender of its last part, ark, so it is also neuter:

et oppgaveark = a worksheet

So et is required here; en oppgaveark would be grammatically wrong.

What kind of word is oppgaveark, and why is it written as one word?

Oppgaveark is a compound noun:

oppgave = task, exercise
ark = sheet (of paper)

Norwegian very often writes compounds as one word, not separated, where English might write two words (like work sheet → worksheet).

Some points:

The last part of the compound (ark) decides the gender and most inflection.
The whole thing is treated as a single noun:
- et oppgaveark (a worksheet)
- oppgavearket (the worksheet)
- oppgaveark (worksheets)
- oppgavearkene (the worksheets)

So oppgaveark is simply the standard way to say “worksheet” / “sheet with exercises” in one word.

Why is it med setninger and not med setningene?

This is a question about indefinite vs. definite plural:

en setning = a sentence
setninger = sentences (indefinite plural)
setningene = the sentences (definite plural)

Med setninger means “with sentences” in a general, non‑specific way: the worksheet contains some sentences, but it’s not about any particular, previously known set.

If you said med setningene, it would mean “with the sentences”, implying:

some specific sentences already known from context, or
sentences you have just mentioned before.

In a neutral description like “The students get a worksheet with sentences to translate”, Norwegian usually uses the indefinite plural: med setninger.

What exactly does får mean here?

Får is the present tense of the verb å få.

Å få has several related meanings:

to get / receive:
- Studentene får et oppgaveark. = The students get a worksheet.
to be given (passive-like meaning in English):
- They are given a worksheet.
to be allowed (to) in some contexts:
- Du får gå nå. = You may go now.

In this sentence, får means that the teacher gives the worksheet to the students and they receive it. A natural English rendering is either:

“The students get a worksheet…” or
“The students are given a worksheet…”

Why is there no som in setninger de skal oversette hjemme? Shouldn’t it be setninger som de skal oversette hjemme?

This is a relative clause: “sentences (that) they are going to translate at home”.

Norwegian often uses som as a relative pronoun, like English that/which/who:

setninger som de skal oversette hjemme
= sentences that they are going to translate at home

Here, som would represent the object of “oversette” (“translate”). When som is the object of the verb in the relative clause, it can usually be omitted in Norwegian:

setninger (som) de skal oversette hjemme

So both are grammatical:

med setninger de skal oversette hjemme
med setninger som de skal oversette hjemme

The version without som is just a bit more compact and is common in everyday Norwegian.

What does de refer to here, and why is it de and not dem?

In setninger de skal oversette hjemme, the pronoun de is the subject of the verb skal oversette.

Norwegian subject and object forms:

de = they (subject)
dem = them (object)

In the clause:

de = subject (“they”)
skal oversette = verb phrase (“are going to translate”)
(implicit object) = the sentences

So de refers back to studentene and is correctly in the subject form.

You would use dem if it were an object, e.g.:

Læreren hjelper dem. = The teacher helps them.

Note: in many spoken dialects, people pronounce both forms similarly (often like “de”), which can confuse learners, but in standard written Bokmål the spelling difference de/dem still matters.

What does skal mean here, and how is it different from vil or kommer til å?

Skal is a modal verb. In this sentence, it expresses a kind of plan, assignment, or obligation:

de skal oversette hjemme
≈ “they are supposed to translate [them] at home” /
“they are going to translate [them] at home.”

Main nuances:

skal
- future based on a plan, arrangement, or duty
- often used when someone else decides (a teacher, rules, schedule)
vil
- more about wanting or willingness (“want to”, “would like to”)
- also used for future in some dialects, but with a more “voluntary” nuance
kommer til å
- more neutral prediction: “will end up …”, “is going to … (likely/inevitably)”

Here, we’re talking about homework: something the teacher assigns. So skal is the natural choice: it signals that this is something the students are expected/required to do.

Why is oversette used without å (infinitive marker) after skal?

In Norwegian, modal verbs are followed by the bare infinitive, without å.

Common modal verbs:

kan (can)
vil (will/want to)
må (must/have to)
skal (shall/going to)
bør (ought to)

Pattern:

de skal oversette (they are going to translate)
de kan oversette (they can translate)
de må oversette (they must translate)

But with a non‑modal verb, you normally use å + infinitive:

De liker å oversette. = They like to translate.
De begynner å oversette. = They start to translate.

So de skal oversette (without å) is exactly the normal structure after skal.

Why is hjemme at the end of the clause de skal oversette hjemme? Can it go somewhere else?

In a normal (non-question) clause, the default word order is:

subject – verb – (object) – adverbial

In the relative clause here:

de = subject
skal oversette = verb phrase
(implicit object = setninger)
hjemme = adverbial of place

So de skal (setningene) oversette hjemme → more naturally de skal oversette (setningene) hjemme.

Other possibilities:

De skal oversette setningene hjemme.
(Most natural: adverbial at the end)
Hjemme skal de oversette setningene.
(Possible, but now “at home” is emphasized/contrasted.)

Forms like de skal hjemme oversette are grammatically possible but sound unnatural in ordinary speech. The safest default is to put hjemme after the verb phrase and object: …oversette (setningene) hjemme.

Why is får in the present tense when this is about homework the students will do later?

The verb får describes what is happening now in the classroom: the students are getting the worksheet right now.

The part that refers to the future homework is in the subordinate clause de skal oversette hjemme, where skal already gives the future/obligation meaning.

So:

Studentene får et oppgaveark
= Right now, they receive a worksheet.
… med setninger de skal oversette hjemme
= These sentences are to be translated later at home.

Norwegian, like English, quite often uses the present tense for things that are scheduled or about to happen, but here it’s simply describing the present action of giving them the worksheet.

Could this sentence be phrased in another natural way, and would that change the grammar?

Yes, there are several natural variants. A few examples, with comments:

Studentene får et oppgaveark med setninger som de skal oversette hjemme.
- Same as your sentence, but with som explicitly added.
- Grammar: som is the relative pronoun (object) and is optional here.
Studentene får et ark med setninger som de skal oversette hjemme.
- et ark med setninger instead of et oppgaveark.
- Slight shift in nuance: more literally “a sheet with sentences” rather than “a worksheet”, but grammatically parallel.
Studentene får et oppgaveark. De skal oversette setningene hjemme.
- Split into two sentences.
- Now setningene is definite (“the sentences”), because they have just been introduced.
- Grammar: first sentence introduces “a worksheet”; second sentence refers back to “the sentences” on that worksheet.

All of these are grammatically correct; the choice is about style, emphasis, and how explicitly you want to spell out the relationships between the parts.