Word
Boken tilhører henne, ikke meg.
Meaning
The book belongs to her, not me.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Boken tilhører henne, ikke meg.
Why is it henne and not hun?
Because henne is the object form of hun (she). The verb tilhøre (to belong to) takes the possessor as an object: the book belongs to her → boken tilhører henne. Using the subject form (hun) here would be ungrammatical.
- Subject: hun
- Object: henne
Why is it meg and not jeg in the second part?
In the contrastive tail ikke meg the pronoun stands for the object of the verb (understood as “…does not belong to me”), so you need the object form meg, not the subject form jeg. Compare:
- Correct here: Boken tilhører henne, ikke meg.
- Different construction: Det er ikke jeg. (after the verb er, prescriptive standard prefers the subject form; in everyday speech you’ll also hear meg)
Could I simply say “Boken er hennes” instead of using tilhører?
Yes. Boken er hennes is very common and a bit more neutral/colloquial. Boken tilhører henne sounds a touch more formal/literary or legalistic. Both mean the same in everyday contexts.
- Parallel contrast: Boken er hennes, ikke min.
Why not say “ikke min/mi” after the comma?