Jeg legger telefonen i lommen min.

I put the phone in my pocket.

Breakdown of Jeg legger telefonen i lommen min.

• jeg: I
• i: in
• min: my
• legge: to put
• telefonen: the phone
• lommen: the pocket

Questions & Answers about Jeg legger telefonen i lommen min.

What does legger mean in this sentence?

Legger is the present‐tense form of the verb å legge, which means “to lay” or “to put.” Here it simply means “I put” or “I place” (the phone in the pocket).

Could I use sette instead of legge? Like jeg setter telefonen i lommen min?

Yes. Å sette also means “to set” or “to place.” The difference is subtle: legge often implies “laying something down,” whereas sette can imply “placing” more generally. Both sentences are correct and commonly used.

Why is it telefonen and not telefon?

Telefonen is the definite form (“the phone”). You use the definite form when you talk about a specific, known phone. If you said telefon, it would be indefinite (“a phone”), so you’d need an article: jeg legger en telefon i lommen min (“I put a phone in my pocket”).

Why is it lommen min instead of min lomme?

In standard Bokmål, when a noun is definite you add the definite suffix (lommen) and then follow it with the possessive pronoun (min). Lommen min is the usual way to say “my pocket.” Saying min lomme isn’t wrong, but it’s less common and can sound formal or poetic.

Why do we use i in i lommen min? Could it be på?

The preposition i means “in,” indicating that the phone goes inside the pocket. På means “on.” You’d say på lommen min only if you placed something on top of your pocket (which is unusual).

Why is the possessive min not mi or mitt here?

When the possessive pronoun comes after a definite noun in Bokmål, you always use the weak form min, regardless of the noun’s gender or number. (If it were before an indefinite noun, you’d choose mi, mitt or mine depending on gender/number.)

Could I say jeg legger telefonen i lomma mi instead?

Lomma is a dialectal/colloquial variant of the definite form lommen, and mi is the corresponding weak possessive form. In informal speech you might hear lomma mi, but in standard Bokmål the correct form is lommen min.

What is the word order in Jeg legger telefonen i lommen min?

It follows the typical Subject‐Verb‐Object‐Adverbial order: Jeg (subject) + legger (verb) + telefonen (object) + i lommen min (prepositional phrase/adverbial).

Can I move i lommen min to the front for emphasis?

Yes, you can topicalize the adverbial, but you must keep the verb second (V2 rule):
I lommen min legger jeg telefonen.
This is grammatically correct but more emphatic or formal.