I morgen drar vi på piknik i parken hvis solen skinner.

Yes, drar is formally present tense, but Norwegian often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the time is already clear from context.

Here, I morgen means tomorrow, so it is obvious the picnic is in the future:

• I morgen drar vi ... = Tomorrow we’re going ...

This works a lot like English sentences such as Tomorrow we leave early.

This is because Norwegian usually follows the V2 rule in main clauses. V2 means the finite verb must come in the second position.

So when I morgen is placed first, the verb drar must come next:

• I morgen drar vi på piknik ...

If the subject comes first, you would get:

• Vi drar på piknik i morgen ...

Both are correct, but the word order changes because the verb stays in second position.

I morgen means tomorrow.

This is a fixed expression in Norwegian. Even though i often means in, you should learn i morgen as a set phrase meaning tomorrow.

Compare:

• i dag = today
• i morgen = tomorrow
• i går = yesterday

So here i is just part of the normal time expression.

Dra often means go, leave, or travel, depending on context.

In this sentence, drar vi på piknik means something like:

• we’re going on a picnic

Norwegian often uses dra for going somewhere or setting off, especially in everyday speech.

You might also see gå in some contexts, but dra på piknik is very natural.

In Norwegian, some expressions use fixed prepositions, and dra på piknik is one of them.

So you say:

• dra på piknik = go on a picnic

This is similar to other expressions with på, where English might use a different structure:

• dra på ferie = go on vacation
• dra på tur = go on a trip/hike

So på piknik is the natural idiomatic choice.

Because they express two different things:

• på piknik tells you what activity you are doing
• i parken tells you where it happens

So:

• drar vi på piknik = we’re going on a picnic
• i parken = in the park

Together:

• drar vi på piknik i parken = we’re going on a picnic in the park

Because i is the normal preposition for being in a park, town, room, etc.

So:

• i parken = in the park

You generally use i for being inside or within an area. På is used in other location expressions, but i parken is the natural choice here.

Solen is the definite form of sol, so it means the sun.

• en sol = a sun
• solen = the sun

In this sentence, we are talking about the specific sun everyone knows, so Norwegian uses the definite form:

• hvis solen skinner = if the sun shines

This is very normal, just like English uses the sun rather than sun in this kind of sentence.

Skinner is the present tense of skinne, which means shine.

So:

• solen skinner = the sun is shining / the sun shines

It is in the present tense because Norwegian often uses the present in conditional clauses as well, especially when talking about future possibilities:

• hvis solen skinner = if the sun shines / if the sun is shining

English can also do this:

• If the sun shines tomorrow, we’ll go

Hvis means if. It introduces a condition.

So the sentence means that the picnic depends on the weather:

• hvis solen skinner = if the sun shines

This is a standard conditional structure in Norwegian.

Yes. After hvis, you have a subordinate clause, and Norwegian subordinate clauses do not follow the same V2 pattern as main clauses.

That is why you get:

• hvis solen skinner

with the subject solen before the verb skinner.

Compare:

Main clause:

• I morgen drar vi på piknik

Subordinate clause:

• hvis solen skinner

This subject-verb order in the subordinate clause is normal.

In modern Norwegian, a comma is often used before a subordinate clause like this, especially in careful writing:

• I morgen drar vi på piknik i parken, hvis solen skinner.

However, comma practice can vary a bit depending on style and level of formality, and learners may sometimes see it omitted.

The most important thing is understanding that hvis solen skinner is the conditional part of the sentence.

Yes, absolutely. That is a very natural alternative.

When the hvis-clause comes first, the main clause still follows the V2 rule, so the verb comes before the subject:

• Hvis solen skinner, drar vi på piknik i parken i morgen.

Not:

• Hvis solen skinner, vi drar ...

So this sentence is a very useful example of both:

• subordinate clause first
• verb-second word order in the main clause

Yes, it sounds natural and straightforward.

A native speaker might also say similar versions such as:

• I morgen drar vi på piknik i parken hvis det blir sol.
• Hvis solen skinner i morgen, drar vi på piknik i parken.

But your original sentence is perfectly normal and clear.