Bilen tilhører oss.

The car belongs to us.

Breakdown of Bilen tilhører oss.

• bilen: the car
• oss: us
• tilhøre: to belong to

Questions & Answers about Bilen tilhører oss.

Why is the noun in the definite form bilen?

Because you’re referring to a specific car (the car). Norwegian marks definiteness by attaching a suffix to the noun:

• bil (car) → bilen (the car). You can add a demonstrative for extra emphasis: den bilen (that/this car), but bilen alone already means “the car.”

Can I just say Bilen er vår instead?

Yes. Bilen er vår (The car is ours) is very natural and common in everyday speech. Bilen tilhører oss is fully correct but sounds more formal/official or neutral-informative. Both mean essentially the same thing in this context.

What’s the difference between tilhøre and eie?

• tilhøre = “belong to.” It states a belonging relationship and is common in formal statements, labels, and descriptions.
• eie = “own.” It states legal/actual ownership more directly. Examples:
• Bilen tilhører oss. (The car belongs to us.)
• Vi eier bilen. (We own the car.)

Is tilhører one word? Is it related to høre (to hear)?

• Tilhører is one verb form (present tense of tilhøre). Don’t write it as two words.
• It is historically related to høre (hear), but the meaning is different. Be careful:
  • tilhøre = belong to
  • høre på = listen to
  • høre til = belong (with/in), often for sets/contexts, not usually for personal ownership.

How do I pronounce tilhører and oss?

• tilhører: approximately “til-HØR-er.” The vowel ø is like French “eu” in “bleu” or German “ö,” a rounded version of English “er” in “nurse.”
• oss: like “oss” with a short o (similar to the vowel in British “boss”). In much spoken Norwegian it may sound like “ås.”

What are the main verb forms of tilhøre?

• Infinitive: å tilhøre
• Present: tilhører (as in the sentence)
• Preterite (past): tilhørte
• Perfect participle: tilhørt (e.g., har tilhørt)
• Present participle/adjectival: tilhørende (“belonging/affiliated”)

How do I negate the sentence?

Place ikke after the finite verb:

• Bilen tilhører ikke oss. You can also negate the predicate alternative:
• Bilen er ikke vår.

How do I make it a yes/no question?

Invert verb and subject:

• Tilhører bilen oss? Or use the predicate version:
• Er bilen vår?

Why is it oss and not vi?

Vi is the subject form (we), oss is the object form (us). After tilhøre, you need an object:

• Vi eier bilen. (subject)
• Bilen tilhører oss. (object)

How do I use vår/vårt/våre with nouns?

They must agree with the noun’s gender/number, and you can place them before (indefinite) or after (definite) the noun.

• Masculine/feminine singular: vår bil / bilen vår
• Neuter singular: vårt hus / huset vårt
• Plural (all genders): våre biler / bilene våre

Can I say Bilen til oss to mean “our car”?

As a noun phrase, yes: bilen til oss = “our car,” common in speech. As a full sentence, you’d say Det er bilen til oss. However, the standard possessive is usually bilen vår in writing.

Can I say Bilen hører til oss?

It’s understandable, but for ownership to people, tilhøre is the idiomatic choice: Bilen tilhører oss.
Høre til is more often used for membership or contextual belonging:

• Hvaler hører til pattedyrene. (Whales belong to the mammals.)
• Denne nøkkelen hører til den døren. (This key goes with that door.)

Can I move oss earlier in the sentence for emphasis?

In standard Norwegian, keep the object after the verb in this statement:

• Natural: Bilen tilhører oss. Fronting oss here (e.g., Oss tilhører bilen) is unidiomatic. For emphasis, you’d typically change the structure:
• Det er vi som eier bilen.
• Det er oss bilen tilhører. (cleft construction)

How do I handle plural nouns?

• Bilene tilhører oss. (The cars belong to us.)
• Predicate version: Bilene er våre. (The cars are ours.)

How do I ask “Who does the car belong to?”

• Hvem tilhører bilen? Alternatively: Hvem eier bilen? (Who owns the car?)

Does tilhøre sound formal?

A bit. It’s common in signs, labels, official statements, and neutral descriptions. In casual speech, many prefer:

• Bilen er vår.
• Vi eier bilen.

Can I use sin/sitt/sine here (like bilen sin)?

No. Sin/sitt/sine is a third-person reflexive possessive used when the owner is the subject of the clause:

• De parkerte bilen sin. (They parked their car.) For first person plural, use vår/vårt/våre:
• Vi parkerte bilen vår.

Is there a difference between bilen and den bilen?

• bilen = the car (definite, already specific).
• den bilen = that/this particular car, often with extra emphasis or contrast.

Can tilhøre be used for groups or places?

Yes:

• Han tilhører styret. (He belongs to the board.)
• Hun tilhører mindretallet. (She belongs to the minority.)
• Disse gjenstandene tilhører museet. (These items belong to the museum.)

Any common mistakes to avoid with this sentence?

• Don’t split tilhører into two words.
• Don’t add an extra til (not tilhører til).
• Use object oss, not subject vi.
• Prefer tilhøre (not høre til) when talking about something belonging to a person/owner.
• If you switch to a possessive construction, match form and placement: bilen vår / vår bil, not mixed forms.