The Group Genitive
In English, when you want to show that something belongs to a phrase rather than a single noun, you put the possessive "'s" at the very end of the phrase (for example, "the Queen of England's crown"). Danish does exactly the same thing using its possessive -s. This is called the group genitive (gruppegenitiv).
Instead of adding the -s to the main person, you attach it directly to the last word of the descriptive phrase. For example, in the phrase "the woman from the ground floor," the -s attaches to "the ground floor."
| It is the woman from the ground floor's pram that is standing in the shared hallway. | Det er kvinden fra stueetagens barnevogn som står i den fælles gang. |
| We do not have the chairman of the board's permission yet. | Vi har ikke formanden for bestyrelsens tilladelse endnu. |
Shared Ownership
The group genitive is also used when two people share ownership of something. Instead of adding an -s to both people, you treat "person A and person B" as a single descriptive group. The possessive -s only attaches to the final person in the phrase.
| My uncle and aunt's apartment is located on the ground floor. | Min onkel og tantes lejlighed ligger i stueetagen. |
| The man and the woman's shared pram is standing in front of the property. | Manden og kvindens fælles barnevogn står foran ejendommen. |
Community Relationships
You will often use the group genitive when talking about roles and relationships in a neighborhood, apartment building, or housing association. Whether you are talking about the owner of a property or the chairman of a board, the -s always waits patiently for the very end of the title.
| We borrow the owner of the property's lawnmower because we have nothing. | Vi låner ejeren af ejendommens græsslåmaskine fordi vi ingenting har. |
| The chairman of the board's wife often talks with the caretaker. | Formanden for bestyrelsens kone snakker ofte med viceværten. |