7 Grammar

7 Grammar

PRONOUNS

Possessive pronouns

The possessive pronouns give information about ownership.

If the owner is jeg (I), you indicate possession by using either min, mi or mitt dependent on the gender of the «owned» noun. If the «owned» noun is in plural, you choose mine:

Faren min er lærer. My father is a teacher.
Mora mi er også lærer. My mother is also a teacher.
Huset mitt er gammelt. My house is old.
Bøkene mine ligger i sekken. My books are in the bag.

The possessives din (your/yours) and vår (our/ours) also agree in number and gender with the noun while hans (his), hennes (her/hers) and deres (their/theirs) are invariable.

Owner

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

Plural

I

faren min
my father

mora mi
my mother

huset mitt
my house

bøkene mine
my books

you

faren din
your father

mora di
your mother

huset ditt
your house

bøkene dine
your books

he

faren hans
his father

mora hans
his mother

huset hans
his house

bøkene hans
his books

she

faren hennes
her father

mora hennes
her mother

huset hennes
her house

bøkene hennes
her books

we

faren vår
our father

mora vår
our mother

huset vårt
our house

bøkene våre
our books

you

faren deres
your father

mora deres
your mother

huset deres
your house

bøkene deres
your books

they

faren deres
their father

mora deres
their mother

huset deres
their house

bøkene deres
their books

In Norwegian, the possessive pronouns can be placed either after the «owned object», like in the table above, or in front of the «owned object»: faren min or min far.

Note that the noun takes the definite form in the first case while it takes the indefinite form in the latter:

faren min  but min far
mora di  but di mor
huset hennes but hennes hus
bøkene våre but våre bøker
faren deres  but deres far

CONJUNCTIONS

Subordinating conjunctions

Som = who/which/(that)

Who/which/(that) - which mostly refers to a noun in front - is simply som in Norwegian, regardless of whether it is referring to people, animals or objects:

Jeg har en bror. Han er 30 år gammel.
I have a brother. He is 30 years old.		 → Jeg har en bror som er 30 år gammel.
I have a brother who is 30 years old.
Jeg har en katt. Den er søt.
I have a cat. It is cute.		 → Jeg har en katt som er søt.
I have a cat which is cute.
Jeg har en bil. Den er ny.
I have a car. It is new.		 → Jeg har en bil som er ny.
I have a car which is new.

Da - når = when

Both da and når mean when.

We use da about a single happening or period of time in the past:

Jeg danset ballett da jeg var lita.
I used to dance ballet when I was little.

We use når for customary or repeated actions, even for repeated actions in the past:

Jeg liker å slappe av når jeg kommer hjem fra skolen.
I like to relax when I come home from school.
Jeg likte alltid å slappe av når jeg kom hjem fra skolen.
I always liked to relax when I came home from school.

We also use når for actions in the future:

Jeg skal ta eksamen når kurset er ferdig.
I will take the exam when the course is finishe