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Pronouns & Saying 'my / your'
Subject vs object pronouns, and the very Norwegian habit of putting 'my' AFTER the noun.
If you remember nothing else
- •Subject: jeg, du, han, hun, vi, dere, de. Object: meg, deg, ham/han, henne, oss, dere, dem.
- •Possessives usually come AFTER the noun, which then takes 'the' form: 'bilen min' = my car.
- •Possessives agree with the noun's gender: min/mi/mitt, din/di/ditt.
Subject vs object
Like English (I/me, he/him), Norwegian changes the pronoun depending on whether it's doing the action or receiving it.
Jeg ser deg.
I see you.
Hun hjelper meg.
She helps me.
Vi liker dem.
We like them.
Possessive after the noun (the natural way)
The everyday way to say 'my car' is to put the possessive AFTER the noun, and the noun goes into its definite ('the') form: 'bilen min', literally 'the-car my'. This sounds the most natural in speech.
bilen min
my car (en bil)
boka mi
my book (ei bok)
huset mitt
my house (et hus)
vennen din
your friend
Agreement: min / mi / mitt
The possessive changes with the gender of the thing owned: masculine min, feminine mi, neuter mitt (and plural: mine). Same pattern for 'your': din / di / ditt / dine.
katten min
my cat (en)
jakka mi
my jacket (ei)
barnet mitt
my child (et)
barna mine
my children (plural)
Quick check
3 questions. Get them right to lock in the lesson.