Barnen somnar inte utan sin filt.

not

Breakdown of Barnen somnar inte utan sin filt.

• barnet: the child
• utan: without
• sin: their

Questions & Answers about Barnen somnar inte utan sin filt.

Why is it barnen and not just barn?

Barn means children in a general or indefinite sense, like children / kids.

Barnen is the definite plural form and means the children.

Swedish usually adds the definite ending to the noun instead of using an article like the.
So:

• barn = children / kids
• barnen = the children

In this sentence we’re talking about specific children (the ones we know about), so Swedish uses barnen.

What does somnar mean exactly, and how is it different from sover?

Both relate to sleep, but they are used differently:

• somnar = fall asleep, the process of going from awake to asleep
• sover = sleep, the state of being asleep

So:

• Barnen somnar inte = The children do not fall asleep.
• Barnen sover inte = The children are not sleeping.

In this sentence, the focus is on them not managing to fall asleep without the blanket, so somnar is correct.

Why is the word order somnar inte and not inte somnar?