Learn Hardcore Swedish: Barnen känner sig glada efter konserten. - The children feel happy after the concert.

Barn is a neuter noun that has the same form in singular and plural (one child = ett barn, several children = barn). To say the children, you add the definite plural ending -en: barnen.

barn = child / children (indefinite)
- ett barn = a child
- många barn = many children
barnen = the children (definite plural)
- Barnen känner sig glada = The children feel happy

Swedish normally marks definiteness on the noun with an ending, not with a separate word like the.

2. Why is it känner sig instead of är (like “Barnen är glada…”)?

Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

Barnen är glada efter konserten.
States a fact: The children are happy after the concert (describes their state).
Barnen känner sig glada efter konserten.
Emphasizes their subjective feeling: The children feel happy after the concert.

So känner sig (“feel”) highlights the children’s own experience of the emotion, while är (“are”) simply describes the state as an objective fact.

3. What does sig do here? Why do we need it after känner?

Sig is a reflexive pronoun. Känna sig is a reflexive verb that means to feel (in oneself) in the sense of emotional or physical state.

Compare:

Jag känner honom. = I know him / I’m acquainted with him.
Jag känner något. = I feel something (with my senses, e.g. touch).
Jag känner mig trött. = I feel tired (describes my own state).

Without sig, känner would need some other object (like someone or something), and Barnen känner glada would be ungrammatical. Sig shows that the feeling is about themselves.

4. Why is it glada and not glad?

In Swedish, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in number (singular/plural) and sometimes gender. Barnen is plural, so the adjective must be in plural form: glada.

Basic pattern with glad:

en-word, singular: en glad flicka (a happy girl)
ett-word, singular: ett glatt barn (a happy child)
plural (any gender): glada barn / barnen är glada

Since barnen = the children (plural), the correct form is glada.

5. How do the reflexive pronouns change with different subjects (I, you, we, etc.)?

Here are the common reflexive pronouns with känna sig (“to feel”):

Jag känner mig glad. = I feel happy.
Du känner dig glad. = You feel happy.
Han/Hon/Den/Det känner sig glad. = He/She/It feels happy.
Vi känner oss glada. = We feel happy.
Ni känner er glada. = You (plural) feel happy.
De känner sig glada. = They feel happy.

So sig is specifically used for han / hon / den / det / de.

6. What tense is känner here, and how can it refer to something “after the concert”?

Känner is present tense. Swedish present tense often covers what English would also describe with a present tense: a current state that results from something that already happened.

Barnen känner sig glada efter konserten.
Means: Now, after the concert, the children feel happy.

The concert is already over, but the feeling is happening now, so present tense is natural in Swedish (and in English too: “They feel happy after the concert.”).

7. Why is it efter konserten and not something like efter en konsert?

Efter konserten uses the definite form konserten (“the concert”). This usually implies that it’s a specific concert that both speaker and listener know about (for example, the one they just attended).

Forms of konsert:

en konsert = a concert
konserten = the concert
konserter = concerts
konserterna = the concerts

So efter konserten = after the concert (that particular one).

8. What is the difference between efter konserten and efteråt?

efter konserten = after the concert (specifically tied to that event)
efteråt = afterwards / later (more general, not tied to a specific noun)

You could say:

Barnen känner sig glada efter konserten.
Barnen känner sig glada efteråt.

Both are correct, but efter konserten makes the connection to the concert very explicit.

9. Can I change the word order, for example start with Efter konserten?

Yes, but the pronoun sig normally stays close to the verb. Natural options:

Barnen känner sig glada efter konserten. (neutral order)
Efter konserten känner barnen sig glada. (emphasis on after the concert)

Avoid: ✗ Efter konserten känner sig barnen glada.
That sounds wrong in Swedish, because the reflexive pronoun prefers to sit right after the verb, before other objects or complements.

10. What is the difference between känner and känner sig in general?

They have different core meanings:

känna (någon/något) = to feel / to know / to be acquainted with
- Jag känner honom. = I know him.
- Jag känner en smärta i ryggen. = I feel a pain in my back.
känna sig + adjective = to feel (a certain way, emotionally or physically)
- Jag känner mig sjuk. = I feel ill.
- Barnen känner sig glada. = The children feel happy.

So in your sentence, känner sig must be used, because we’re talking about how the children themselves feel.