Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.

The pupil writes in his/her diary.

Breakdown of Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.

• i: in
• skrive: to write
• dagboken: the diary
• eleven: the pupil
• sin: his/her

Questions & Answers about Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.

Why is it Eleven and not Elev?

Norwegian usually marks definiteness (“the …”) with a suffix on the noun instead of a separate word:

• en elev = a pupil (indefinite)
• eleven = the pupil (definite)

So Eleven skriver … means “The pupil writes …” (or “The student writes …” in a school context).

Does Eleven have anything to do with the number eleven (11)?

No. They just look similar to an English speaker.

• Norwegian for the number 11 is elleve.
• eleven (with one l and one v) is the definite form of elev (“pupil, student”).

So Eleven skriver … can only mean “The pupil writes …”, not “The eleven writes …”.

What tense is skriver, and does it mean “writes” or “is writing”?

skriver is the present tense of the verb å skrive (“to write”).

In Norwegian, the present tense covers both:

• English simple present: The pupil writes in his diary (every day).
• English present continuous: The pupil is writing in his diary (right now).

Context decides whether you understand it as a habitual action or something happening right now.

Why is it i dagboken and not på dagboken?

The preposition i usually means “in / inside”. You write in a diary, notebook, book, etc.:

• skrive i dagboken – write in the diary
• skrive i boka – write in the book

på often means “on” (on the surface of something) or “on/at” (a place or event), so:

• skrive på tavla – write on the blackboard
• være på skolen – be at school

So i dagboken is the natural choice: you write inside the diary.

What is the difference between dagbok and dagboken?

dagbok is a compound noun:

• dag = day
• bok = book
• dagbok = diary (literally “day-book”)

Forms:

• en dagbok = a diary (indefinite)
• dagboken = the diary (definite, masculine form in Bokmål)

So i dagboken = “in the diary”.

Why is it dagboken sin and not sin dagbok?

In Norwegian, possessive pronouns can come:

1. After the noun (more neutral, very common):
   
   • dagboken sin = “the diary his/her (own)”
2. Before the noun (slightly more emphatic / sometimes more informal):
   
   • sin dagbok = “his/her (own) diary”

Both are grammatically correct:

• Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.
• Eleven skriver i sin dagbok.

The meaning is practically the same here. The version noun + possessive (dagboken sin) is extremely common in written Bokmål.

What does sin mean, and how is it different from hans / hennes?

sin is a reflexive possessive pronoun. It refers back to the subject of the sentence.

In Eleven skriver i dagboken sin:

• Eleven (the pupil) is the subject.
• sin says that the diary belongs to that subject → the pupil’s own diary.

Contrast:

• Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.
  = The pupil writes in his/her own diary.

• Eleven skriver i dagboken hans.
  = The pupil writes in his diary, referring to some other male person, not the pupil.

• Eleven skriver i dagboken hennes.
  = The pupil writes in her diary, referring to some other female person.

So sin ties the possession back to the subject, while hans/hennes point to someone else (or at least do not automatically link to the subject).

Why is it sin and not si or sitt?

The reflexive possessive agrees with the gender and number of the noun it belongs to, not with the owner.

For singular:

• sin – for masculine and feminine nouns
• si – (optionally) for feminine nouns in Bokmål (more common in Nynorsk and dialect writing)
• sitt – for neuter nouns

Plural (for all genders):

• sine – for plural nouns

dagbok is typically treated as masculine in Bokmål here:

• en dagbok – dagboken – dagboken sin

So sin is used. You might also see dagboka si in more informal Bokmål or dialectal writing (treating dagbok as feminine), but dagboken sin is a standard masculine Bokmål form.

Is dagbok masculine or feminine? Why do I sometimes see dagboka si?

In Bokmål, many nouns can be either masculine or feminine (or treated as “common gender”). dagbok is one of these.

Two possible definite forms:

• Masculine: en dagbok – dagboken
• Feminine: ei dagbok – dagboka

Accordingly, with a reflexive possessive:

• Masculine: dagboken sin
• Feminine: dagboka si

Both patterns exist; dagboken sin is a safe, standard Bokmål form. dagboka si is also correct in Bokmål when you choose the feminine form, and very common in speech/dialects and in Nynorsk-style usage.

Can elev refer to both boys and girls? Does sin avoid specifying gender?

Yes. elev is gender-neutral in meaning: it just means “pupil / (school) student,” regardless of sex.

Using sin also avoids choosing between “his” and “her” in English. So:

• Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.
  = The pupil writes in their own diary (gender-neutral),
  and is often translated as “The student writes in their diary.”

Could I say Eleven skriver dagboken sin without i?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

• Eleven skriver i dagboken sin.
  = The pupil writes in his/her diary. (The diary is the place where the writing happens.)

• Eleven skriver dagboken sin.
  = The pupil writes his/her diary (the diary itself is the thing being written, like a direct object, similar to “keeps a diary” or “writes (in) his diary,” but more literally “writes the diary”).

The version with i clearly focuses on writing inside the diary. Without i, it can sound a bit more like the diary is a “project” or text the pupil is writing.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move i dagboken sin?

The basic order here is:

• Subject – Verb – (Place/Other info)
• Eleven – skriver – i dagboken sin.

Variations are possible, especially for emphasis:

• I dagboken sin skriver eleven. (Emphasis on in his/her diary.)

But in a neutral sentence, Eleven skriver i dagboken sin is the normal, natural order.