Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Noen barn vil leke ute, mens andre vil se film. - Some children want to play outside, while others want to watch a movie.

It usually means some when talking about a limited number of people/things:
- Noen barn – some children
- Noen bøker – some books
It can also mean any in questions and negations, similar to English:
- Har du noen spørsmål? – Do you have any questions?
- Jeg har ikke noen penger. – I don’t have any money.

Here, because it’s a normal (positive) statement, noen is understood as some.

Why is vil used? Does it mean will (future) or want to here?

In this sentence, vil means want to, not future will.

Noen barn vil leke ute
→ Some children *want to play outside*
andre vil se film
→ others *want to watch a film*

In Norwegian, vil is a modal verb with two main uses:

Want to / wish to (very common):
- Jeg vil sove. – I want to sleep.
Will as a prediction (future), but this is less automatic than in English and often sounds more like “be willing to / tend to / probably will”.

For simple future, Norwegian more often uses:

skal (planned/decided future)
or just the present tense with a time expression.

So in this sentence, understand vil as want to.

Why is the word order Noen barn vil leke ute and not something like Noen barn leke vil ute?

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here, vil) must be the second element in the sentence.

Breakdown:

Noen barn – first element (the subject phrase)
vil – second element (the finite verb)
leke – infinitive verb
ute – adverb

So:

✅ Noen barn vil leke ute.
❌ Noen barn leke vil ute. (verb is not in second position)

As soon as you have a main clause statement, put the conjugated verb (here vil) in the second slot.

What is the difference between leke and spille for “play”? Why is it leke here?

Norwegian splits “play” into two common verbs:

leke – to play in the childish / free play sense:
- Kids playing, make-believe, running around, toys, etc.
- Barna leker i hagen. – The children are playing in the garden.
spille – to play a game, sport, or instrument, or to act in a film/play:
- spille fotball – play football
- spille gitar – play guitar
- spille sjakk – play chess
- spille i en film – act in a movie

In Noen barn vil leke ute, we’re talking about children just “playing outside” in a general, kid-like way, so leke is the natural verb.

What does ute mean exactly, and how is it different from ut or utenfor?

Ute means outside (as a location: outdoors).

Common distinctions:

ute – “out, outside” as a state/location:
- Barna er ute. – The children are outside.
- Noen barn vil leke ute. – Some children want to play outside.
ut – “out” as movement outwards:
- Gå ut! – Go out!
- Han går ut av huset. – He goes out of the house.
utenfor – “outside (of) [something specific]”, often just outside a boundary:
- Han står utenfor huset. – He is standing outside the house.
- Bilen står utenfor skolen. – The car is (parked) outside the school.

In this sentence, we focus on the kids being outside while playing, so ute is correct.

Why is there a comma before mens? Is that always required?

Yes, in normal written Norwegian it’s standard (and expected) to put a comma before mens when it introduces a clause.

… vil leke ute, mens andre vil se film.

mens introduces a subordinate clause (here, a contrast: while/whereas others want to watch a film). Norwegian comma rules say you generally put a comma before conjunctions that introduce a new clause like mens, fordi, når, hvis, at etc.

So:

✅ Noen barn vil leke ute, mens andre vil se film.
✅ Jeg går hjem, fordi jeg er trøtt. – I’m going home because I’m tired.

What does andre refer to, and why don’t we repeat barn (i.e., why not andre barn)?

Andre means other / others.

In this sentence, andre clearly refers back to barn:
- Noen barn vil leke ute, mens andre vil se film.
  → Some children … while others …

You can repeat barn:

Noen barn vil leke ute, mens andre barn vil se film.

Both are correct. Repeating barn makes it slightly more explicit but often sounds a bit heavier. Omitting it (andre) is very natural when the noun is clear from context, just like English “some children … others …”.

Why is barn not changed in the plural (why not barner)? How does the noun barn work?

Barn is an irregular neuter noun whose singular and plural forms look the same.

Forms:

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

So Noen barn can only be plural, because noen is a plural determiner. That’s why we know it means some children, not “some child”.

There is no form barner; that would be incorrect.

Why is it se film and not se en film? When do you drop the article with film?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

se film – watch films / a film in general, activity in general:
- Jeg liker å se film. – I like watching movies (as an activity).
se en film – watch a specific film, more countable:
- Skal vi se en film i kveld? – Shall we watch a (one) film tonight?

In your sentence, vil se film is about the activity of watching a film, not a particular, already-identified movie. So Norwegian naturally uses se film without an article.

Could you say vil å leke (like "want to play")? Why is there no å?

You must not use å after vil.

Norwegian modal verbs (like vil, skal, kan, må, bør) are followed by a bare infinitive (without å):

✅ vil leke – want to play
✅ skal spise – will/shall eat
✅ kan snakke – can speak
❌ vil å leke
❌ skal å spise

So:

Noen barn vil leke ute is correct.
Noen barn vil å leke ute is incorrect.

Where in the sentence should ute go? Could you say vil ute leke or ute vil leke?

The natural place for ute is after the verb phrase, as in the original:

✅ Noen barn vil leke ute.

More generally, in simple main clauses:

Subject – finite verb – (infinitive/objects) – adverb of place/time

So:

Noen barn – subject
vil – finite verb (modal)
leke – infinitive
ute – adverb of place

These alternatives are not natural:

❌ Noen barn vil ute leke.
❌ Ute vil noen barn leke. (only possible in very marked, poetic, or special contexts)

Stick with vil leke ute for normal speech.

How is the sentence pronounced naturally? Any tricky sounds to watch for?

Approximate pronunciation (using IPA and a typical Eastern Norwegian accent):

Noen – /ˈnuː.ən/ or often reduced to /ˈnuːn/ in fast speech
barn – /bɑːɳ/ (with a retroflex “rn” sound)
vil – /vɪl/
leke – /ˈleː.kə/
ute – /ˈʉː.tə/ (front rounded /ʉː/, like saying ee with rounded lips)
mens – /mɛns/
andre – /ˈɑn.drə/
se – /seː/
film – /fɪlm/

Stress pattern:

NO-en BARN vil LE-ke U-te, mens AN-dre vil SE FILM.

Linking is smooth; there are no silent letters that are very surprising here, but note:

The rn in barn merges into a retroflex sound (tongue curls back).
The e at the end of leke, ute, andre is a reduced, unstressed schwa-like sound /ə/.