Onklens jakke hænger på væggen ved døren.

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Breakdown of Onklens jakke hænger på væggen ved døren.

• døren: the door
• ved: by
• hænge: to hang

Questions & Answers about Onklens jakke hænger på væggen ved døren.

Why is it Onklens with an extra -n- and -s? Why not just onkel?

Onkel means uncle.

• Onklen = the uncle (definite form)
• Onklens = the uncle’s (possessive/genitive)

So Onklens jakke literally is the uncle’s jacket.

Danish often forms the possessive by adding -s to a noun, including the definite form:

• Peter → Peters bil (Peter’s car)
• manden → mandens hat (the man’s hat)
• onklen → onklens jakke (the uncle’s jacket)

Why is it Onklens jakke and not Onklens jakken?

In Danish, when a noun is possessed (with -s or a possessive pronoun like min, hans, hendes), the possessed noun is normally indefinite, without the -en / -et ending:

• mandens bil (the man’s car), not mandens bilen
• min jakke (my jacket), not min jakken
• Onklens jakke (the uncle’s jacket), not Onklens jakken

The possessor (Onklens) already makes the noun specific, so the definite ending on jakke is not used.