Forældrenes beslutning om ferien løser et gammelt problem.

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Breakdown of Forældrenes beslutning om ferien løser et gammelt problem.

• gammel: old
• om: about
• løse: to solve

Questions & Answers about Forældrenes beslutning om ferien løser et gammelt problem.

What does the -s on forældrenes mean, and why is there no apostrophe like in English?

The -s on forældrenes marks the possessive (genitive), just like parents’ in English.

• forældre = parents
• forældrenes = the parents’ (belonging to the parents)

In standard Danish spelling you:

• add -s directly to the word
• do not use an apostrophe for normal nouns:
  
  • Peter → Peters bil (Peter’s car)
  • forældre → forældrenes beslutning (the parents’ decision)

An apostrophe may appear with some names in informal writing, but the basic rule is: possessive is just -s, no apostrophe.

Why is there no article before forældrenes beslutning? Why not something like den forældrenes beslutning?

In Danish, a possessive (like forældrenes) already makes the noun phrase definite, so you normally do not add a separate definite article.

Compare:

• beslutning = a decision
• beslutningen = the decision
• forældrenes beslutning = the parents’ decision (already specific/definite)

You cannot say den forældrenes beslutning; that would be ungrammatical.
The pattern is:

• Peters bil (Peter’s car), not den Peters bil
• Byens park (the city’s park), not den byens park
• Forældrenes beslutning (the parents’ decision), not den forældrenes beslutning

Why is it and not or ?