Possessive Pronouns
Our second grammar video this week is about Possessive Pronouns.
This is the first of two videos we will have about possessives.
Believe it or not, even if small and apparently insignificant, these are crucial language features!
Let’s discover them together!
You can watch the video and read this text or just download our PP-presentation.
You decide your favourite way of learning!
So, what are Possessive Pronouns?
Well, the terminology used for possessive words and phrases is NOT consistent among all grammarians and linguists. So, welcome to the club if you’re feeling confused!
However, all agree that possessives give information about ownership.
If you have a sweet tooth for grammar, you can read more about possessives here.
But for the rest of the layfolk, let’s take some examples:
If the owner is JEG (I), you indicate possession by using either MIN, MI or MITT depending on the gender of the «owned» noun.
| Jeg har en far | faren MIN heter Karl | maskulin |
| Jeg har en mor | mora MI heter Anne | feminin |
| Jeg har et hus | huset MITT er gammelt | neutrum |
If the «owned» noun is in PLURAL, you choose MINE regardless of the gender:
| Jeg har mange bøker | bøkene MINE står i bokhylla |
As you probably have noticed, the nouns take on the definite form. This always happens when the possessive comes AFTER the noun.
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 (you/yours in pl. and their/theirs) are invariable.
| Owner | Mascul. | Femin. | Neuter | Plural | English |
| JEG (I) | faren min | mora mi | huset mitt | bøkene mine | my |
| DU (You) | faren din | mora di | huset ditt | bøkene dine | your(s) |
| HAN (He) | faren hans | mora hans | huset hans | bøkene hans | his |
| HUN (She) | faren hennes | mora hennes | huset hennes | bøkene hennes | her(s) |
| VI (We) | faren vår | mora vår | huset vårt | bøkene våre | our(s) |
| DERE (You pl.) | faren deres | mora deres | huset deres | bøkene deres | your(s) |
| DE (They) | faren deres | mora deres | huset deres | bøkene deres | their(s) |
However, in Norwegian, it is also possible to place the possessives in front of the «owned object».
In this case, we use the indefinite form of the noun, for example: MIN far.
This use of the possessive is a little bit more formal and preferred when writing, but in many cases, people just choose according to personal style, preferences and situations.
So, to exemplify this once more:
| faren min | but | min far |
| mora mi | but | mi mor |
| huset mitt | but | mitt hus |
| barna mine | but | mine barn |
| faren din | but | din far |
| mora di | but | di mor |
| huset ditt | but | ditt hus |
| barna dine | but | dine barn |
| faren/mora hennes | but | hennes far/mor |
| huset hennes | but | hennes hus |
| bøkene hennes | but | hennes bøker |
| faren/mora hans | but | hans far/mor |
| huset hans | but | hans hus |
| bøkene hans | but | hans bøker |
| faren/mora vår | but | vår far/mor |
| huset vårt | but | vårt hus |
| bøkene våre | but | våre bøker |
| faren/mora deres | but | deres far/mor |
| huset deres | but | deres hus |
| bøkene deres | but | deres bøker |
Well, that’s all for now!
We hope the video and this guide have helped you learn how to use the possessives more simply and pragmatically.
Next week, we will take a closer look at a very special type of possessives, the reflexive ones.
Meanwhile, practise and consolidate your new knowledge with our grammar exercises.
And don’t forget to speak Norwegian whenever you can!
Enjoy!
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