Possession with '-s' and 'til' — Norwegian Grammar

Norwegian has two ways of saying that something belongs to someone: an -s on the owner, close to English "'s", and a phrase with , literally "the car to Anna". Both are correct, and in everyday speech is the more common.

-s Without an Apostrophe

The owner gets an -s, written directly on the word without an apostrophe. The thing that is owned comes after it and has no ending for "the".

Annas bil er rød.
Anna's car is red.
Jeg har et spørsmål om morgendagens eksamen.
I have a question about tomorrow's exam.
Norges hovedstad er Oslo.
Norway's capital is Oslo.

If the owner already ends in -s, an apostrophe takes the place of the extra s.

Lars' bil er ny.
Lars's car is new.

The Owner Can Be Definite

With a definite noun the -s comes after the ending for "the".

Bilens farge er blå.
The colour of the car is blue.
Mannens hund er søt.
The man's dog is cute.

til: The Everyday Choice

In speech Norwegians usually say the thing first, in its definite form, then and the owner.

Bilen til Anna er rød.
Anna's car is red.
Hva er adressen til virksomheten din?
What is the address of your business?
Faren til Lisa heter David.
Lisa's father is called David.

Fixed Phrases with -s

A number of everyday expressions use the -s form of a time word.

Hva er dagens rett?
What is the dish of the day?
Det var årets beste dag.
It was the best day of the year.

Asking Whose?

The written word for "whose" is . In speech Norwegians usually say , or , matching the thing owned.

Hvis bil er dette?
Whose car is this?
Hvem sin bil er dette?
Whose car is this?
Hvem sitt hus er det?
Whose house is that?

With Pronouns

When the owner is a pronoun, Norwegian uses a possessive word instead: (my), (his), (her) and so on.

Hunden hennes er veldig søt.
Her dog is very cute.

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