Huset der hun bor har en hemmelig hage.

she

Breakdown of Huset der hun bor har en hemmelig hage.

• ha: to have
• en: a
• bo: to live

Questions & Answers about Huset der hun bor har en hemmelig hage.

Why is it der and not som after Huset?

Because the relative clause refers to a place. In Norwegian, der is a relative adverb meaning “where.” Safe, equivalent ways to say it are:

• Huset der hun bor ...
• Huset som hun bor i ...
• Huset hun bor i ... (here som is omitted; that’s common when it would be the object of a preposition) Use der only for places; use som as the general relative pronoun.

Can I say Huset hvor hun bor?

You will hear this in speech, and many people write it too, but in careful/standard Bokmål you should prefer der or som ... i. For exams and formal writing, stick to Huset der hun bor or Huset som hun bor i.

Why isn’t there an i after bor when using der?

Because der already encodes location (“where/there”). Adding i would double-mark the relation and is considered wrong in standard Norwegian: avoid Huset der hun bor i. If you want a preposition, use som instead: Huset som hun bor i.

What is the word order inside the relative clause: hun bor or bor hun?