Learn Hardcore Swedish: Flera barn leker i parken. - Several children are playing in the park.

flera barn – several children (a bit more than a couple; neutral about how many, but more than two is often implied)
några barn – some / a few children (at least two, but the focus is just “some”, not the number)
många barn – many children (emphasizes that the number is large)

All three are followed by indefinite plural nouns:

flera barn, några barn, många barn (never with -en / -na on the noun in these phrases)

Why is barn the same word for both singular and plural?

Barn is a neuter noun with an irregular pattern where the indefinite singular and indefinite plural look the same.

Full paradigm:

ett barn – a child (indefinite singular)
barnet – the child (definite singular)
barn – children (indefinite plural)
barnen – the children (definite plural)

So:

Ett barn leker. – One child is playing.
Flera barn leker. – Several children are playing. Here, barn is plural because of the plural quantifier flera.

Why isn’t it barnen (the children) in this sentence?

In Swedish, words like flera, många, några, två, tre, etc. behave like quantifiers and require the noun to be in the indefinite plural.

So you say:

flera barn – several children
många barn – many children
tre barn – three children

You would not say:

✗ flera barnen
✗ många barnen
✗ tre barnen

If you want “the children are playing in the park” without mentioning how many, you say:

Barnen leker i parken. – The children are playing in the park.

Here barnen is definite plural (the children), and there is no quantifier in front of it.

Why does Swedish use leker where English says “are playing”? Why not something like “är leker”?

Swedish has only one present tense form, and it covers both:

English simple present (play)
English present continuous (are playing)

So leker can mean both:

play (habitually)
are playing (right now)

You never say ✗ är leker. Instead, you always just use the present form:

Barn leker. – Children play / Children are playing.
Jag läser. – I read / I am reading.
Hon jobbar. – She works / She is working.

Context normally makes it clear whether it is habitual or happening now.

What is the difference between leka and spela, and why is it leker here?

Both can translate as to play, but they are used in different contexts.

leka (here: leker):

Used for children playing, being playful, or imaginative play.
Used for playing with toys, running around, role-playing, etc.
Example:
- Barnen leker i parken. – The children are playing in the park.
- De leker med bilar. – They are playing with cars (toys).

spela:

Used for games and structured activities:
- playing sports: spela fotboll – play football/soccer
- playing instruments: spela piano – play the piano
- playing card/board games: spela kort, spela schack – play cards, play chess

In a park context, kids are typically just playing, not necessarily playing a defined game or instrument, so leka is the natural verb: Flera barn leker i parken.

Why is it parken and not just park?

Parken is the definite form: the park.

Declension of park:

en park – a park (indefinite singular)
parken – the park (definite singular)
parker – parks (indefinite plural)
parkerna – the parks (definite plural)

In the sentence Flera barn leker i parken, the speaker is talking about a specific, known park (the local park, the park we both know about), so the definite form parken is used.

If you wanted to say in a park without specifying which, you could say:

Flera barn leker i en park. – Several children are playing in a park.

Why is parken definite but barn is not? Why not make both definite or both indefinite?

Swedish handles definiteness for each noun phrase separately.

In Flera barn leker i parken:

flera barn
- flera forces indefinite plural on the noun: barn, not barnen.
- This group is not specific: just several children.
i parken
- The speaker has a particular park in mind: the park.
- Therefore the definite form parken is used.

So it is natural to have:

indefinite subject: flera barn (several children)
definite location: i parken (in the park)

You could change either one:

Barnen leker i parken. – The children are playing in the park.
Flera barn leker i en park. – Several children are playing in a park.

Can I say I parken leker flera barn instead? Is that correct Swedish?

Yes, I parken leker flera barn is correct and natural Swedish. The meaning is similar, but the emphasis shifts.

Flera barn leker i parken.
- Neutral order: subject first.
- Focus naturally on flera barn (several children).
I parken leker flera barn.
- The sentence starts with a place adverbial (i parken), so by Swedish word order rules the verb must come in second position: leker.
- This order often puts more emphasis on the location: In the park, several children are playing (for example, as contrast to another place).

Both respect Swedish main-clause V2 word order: the finite verb (leker) comes second.

Why is the preposition i used here? Could I say på parken?

i usually corresponds to in, indicating being inside or within something.

i parken – in the park (within the area of the park)

på usually corresponds to on / at, and is used with many common nouns, but not normally with park in this meaning. På parken sounds wrong or at best dialectal/unusual in standard Swedish.

Some common patterns:

i parken – in the park
på stranden – on the beach
i skogen – in the forest
på jobbet – at work
i staden – in the city
på landet – in the countryside

So in this sentence, i parken is the natural and correct choice.

Can I use några instead of flera? What is the difference between flera barn and några barn?

You can say both, but they carry slightly different nuances.

flera barn – several children
- Suggests more than two (often a bit more than just a couple).
- Slightly emphasizes the number: there are quite a few.
några barn – some children, a few children
- Means at least two, but the exact number is not important; just “some”.
- More neutral about quantity, weaker than flera and många.

Both take indefinite plural:

Flera barn leker i parken.
Några barn leker i parken.

Where would adjectives go if I want to describe the children or the park?

Adjectives in Swedish come before the noun in the noun phrase. With quantifiers like flera, the order is:

quantifier – adjective – noun

Examples:

Flera glada barn leker i parken.
– Several happy children are playing in the park.
Flera små barn leker i den stora parken.
– Several small children are playing in the big park.

Notice:

flera glada barn – flera (quantifier) + glada (adjective, plural form) + barn (indefinite plural).
den stora parken – determiner den
- adjective stora
  - definite noun parken (this is the typical “double definiteness” pattern for common-gender nouns with an adjective).

Does the verb form leker change if there is only one child or many children?

No. Swedish verbs do not change for person or number in the present tense.

So:

Ett barn leker i parken. – One child is playing in the park.
Barnet leker i parken. – The child is playing in the park.
Flera barn leker i parken. – Several children are playing in the park.
Barnen leker i parken. – The children are playing in the park.

In every case, the verb is leker. The subject changes form (ett barn / barnet / flera barn / barnen), but the verb stays the same.

How do you pronounce Flera barn leker i parken?

In a broad IPA transcription (Standard Swedish):

Flera – [ˈfleːra]
barn – [bɑːɳ] (the rn is often a single retroflex [ɳ] sound)
leker – [ˈleːkɛr]
i – [iː]
parken – [ˈparkɛn]

Word-level stress is on the first syllable of each content word:

FLEra barn LEker i PARken.

Spoken naturally in a phrase, some syllables will be reduced slightly, but aiming for:

long vowels in fle-, ba-, le-, i, par-
clear r in flera, parken
retroflex rn in barn

will give you a good, understandable pronunciation.