Word
Barnen leker ofta i parken.
Meaning
The children often play in the park.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Barnen leker ofta i parken.
Why is it Barnen and not just Barn for “the children”?
In Swedish, the definite article (the) is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front of it.
- barn = child / children (the word is the same in singular and plural)
- barnet = the child
- barnen = the children
So barnen literally means “the children”.
Using just barn would mean “child/children” without “the”.
Why is it leker and not leka in this sentence?
Leka is the infinitive form, like “to play”.
In the present tense, Swedish verbs usually add -r (or -er) and don’t change for person:
- att leka = to play
- jag leker = I play
- du leker = you play
- han/hon leker = he/she plays
- vi leker = we play
- ni leker = you (plural) play
- de leker = they play
So with barnen (the children), you still use leker:
Barnen leker … = The children play …
Why is it leker ofta and not ofta leker in the middle of the sentence?