Questions & Answers about Forældrenes hus er stille om aftenen.
What exactly does forældrenes mean, and why does it end in -nes?
Forældrenes means “the parents’” (possessive: belonging to the parents).
Breakdown:
- forældre = parents (plural, indefinite)
- forældrene = the parents (plural, definite)
- forældrenes = the parents’ (genitive/possessive form)
So you take forældrene (the parents) and add -s to show possession:
- forældrene + s → forældrenes
The sequence -nes at the end is just the combination of -ne (definite plural ending) + s (possessive). It’s not a separate suffix by itself.
Why is there no word for “the” in “Forældrenes hus”, even though the English translation is “the parents’ house”?
In Danish, when you express possession with a noun in the genitive (with -s), you normally do not add a separate definite article (den/det/de) or a definite ending to the possessed noun.
Structure:
- Forældrenes hus = the parents’ house
- forældrenes → the parents’
- hus → house (indefinite form; no -et here)
You should not say:
- ✗ Forældrenes huset
- ✗ De forældrenes hus
The definiteness (the “the”) is carried by forældrenes, not by hus. So the pattern is:
- [possessor in -s] + [bare noun]
e.g. Peters bil (Peter’s car), Forældrenes hus (the parents’ house).