Learn Hardcore Swedish: Barnen sjunger, men de andra lyssnar. - The children are singing, but the others are listening.

In the sentence, barnen means the children, so the -en here is the definite plural ending, not a singular ending like in many other nouns.

But doesn’t -en usually mean “the” for singular words? How can barnen be plural?

For most common nouns:

en bok → boken (a book → the book)
flera böcker → böckerna (several books → the books)

So you might expect plural definite to be -na or -en + -a.
However, barn is irregular:

ett barn = a child
barn = children
barnen = the children

So here, -en marks definite plural, not singular. You just have to memorize barn – barn – barnen as a special pattern.

What exactly does de andra mean? Is it “the other children”?

De andra literally means the others.

de = they / the (as a determiner)
andra = other, others (plural form)

In this sentence, de andra refers back to the same group (children) and means the others (in that group).

You could say:

Barnen sjunger, men de andra barnen lyssnar.
→ The children are singing, but the other children are listening.

In everyday speech, it’s very natural to omit barnen the second time and just say de andra, because it’s clear from context that we’re still talking about the children.

What’s the difference between andra and de andra?

andra by itself means other / others, but it usually needs some context or a determiner.
de andra means the other ones / the others, referring to a specific known group.

Examples:

andra barn = other children (some other children, not clearly specified which)
de andra barnen = the other children (a specific rest of a known group)
de andra = the others (we understand from context they’re also children here)

In the sentence, de andra is a short way to say the other (children).

Why is there de andra and not just andra as the subject?

In Swedish, you normally don’t use andra alone as the subject without a determiner. You would say:

De andra lyssnar. = The others are listening.
Några andra lyssnar. = Some others are listening.
Andra barn lyssnar. = Other children are listening.

But just Andra lyssnar (with no noun and no determiner) sounds unfinished or poetic. So de andra is the natural, standard way to say the others as a subject.

How is de pronounced here? I often hear dom.

In standard spoken Swedish:

de (subject form) and
dem (object form)

are both usually pronounced dom.

So your sentence is normally pronounced:

Barnen sjunger, men dom andra lyssnar.

But in writing, you must keep de (subject) and dem (object) separate, just like “they” vs “them” in English:

De sjunger. = They sing. (subject)
Jag hör dem. = I hear them. (object)

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

In Swedish, it is normal and correct to put a comma before men when it joins two main clauses:

Barnen sjunger, men de andra lyssnar.

Each side has its own subject and verb:

Barnen sjunger
de andra lyssnar

So the comma is expected. You might see it omitted in informal writing, but the standard rule is to use the comma before men in this case.

Why is the word order after men still de andra lyssnar and not lyssnar de andra?

Men is a coordinating conjunction (like English but). It simply links two main clauses and does not trigger inversion of subject and verb.

So you keep normal main clause word order:

Barnen sjunger,
men de andra lyssnar.

Inversion (verb before subject) in Swedish is mainly triggered by adverbials placed before the verb, or by yes/no questions, not by men.

For example:

Idag sjunger barnen. (Today the children sing. — adverb first → verb before subject)
Sjunger barnen? (Are the children singing? — question → verb before subject)

But Barnen sjunger, men de andra lyssnar stays in normal order on both sides.

Why do we use men here and not och or utan?

men = but, used for contrast without negation:
- Barnen sjunger, men de andra lyssnar.
  → The children are singing, but the others are listening.
och = and, just adds information without contrast:
- Barnen sjunger och de andra lyssnar.
  → The children are singing and the others are listening. (Less contrast; more like two parallel actions.)
utan = but rather / but instead, used after a negation:
- Barnen sjunger inte, utan de lyssnar.
  → The children are not singing, but rather they are listening.

In your sentence, there’s a contrast (one group sings, another listens), but no negation, so men is correct.

Why is it sjunger and not sjunga?

Sjunga is the infinitive: to sing.
Sjunger is the present tense: sing / are singing.

Swedish verbs don’t change with the subject:

Jag sjunger = I sing / I am singing
Du sjunger = You sing
Barnen sjunger = The children sing

So in a present-tense sentence, you use sjunger for all persons, not sjunga.

Why does Swedish use just sjunger instead of something like “are singing”?

Swedish present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous:

Barnen sjunger.
→ The children sing.
→ The children are singing.

If you need to emphasize that something is ongoing right now, you usually rely on context or add an adverb:

Barnen sjunger nu. = The children are singing now.

You generally don’t form a continuous tense with är + verb-ing the way English does.

Why is it just lyssnar and not lyssnar på något? Don’t you normally say lyssna på?

The verb lyssna means to listen.

When you specify what you listen to, you normally say lyssna på:
- De lyssnar på musik. = They are listening to music.
- Hon lyssnar på läraren. = She is listening to the teacher.
When you just say that someone is listening (without specifying an object), you use lyssnar by itself:
- De andra lyssnar. = The others are listening.

In your sentence, lyssnar simply means they are in the act of listening (probably to the children singing, understood from context), so no på is needed.

What’s the difference between lyssna and höra?

lyssna = to listen, i.e. to pay attention with your ears, an intentional action.
höra = to hear, i.e. to perceive sound, not necessarily on purpose.

Examples:

Jag lyssnar på musik. = I am listening to music. (actively)
Jag hör musik. = I hear music. (it reaches my ears)

In your sentence, lyssnar is used because the others are actively listening.

Could I also say Barnen sjunger men de andra lyssnar without the comma?

In informal writing, many Swedes omit that comma, so you will see:

Barnen sjunger men de andra lyssnar.

However, according to standard punctuation rules, a comma before men when joining two main clauses is recommended and considered correct:

Barnen sjunger, men de andra lyssnar.

So for careful or formal writing, keep the comma.

Can I just say Barnen sjunger, men de lyssnar without andra?

You can say:

Barnen sjunger, men de lyssnar.

But then de usually refers back to the same children, so the meaning becomes:

The children are singing, but they are listening.

which is contradictory unless you mean they’re doing both at different times.

With de andra, you clearly contrast two groups:

Barnen sjunger, men de andra lyssnar.
→ The children (one group) are singing, but the others (another group) are listening.

So andra is important here to show it’s a different “they.”