Questions & Answers about Bestefar er eldst i familien.
Why is Bestefar capitalized? Does it mean “Grandpa” as a name or just “grandfather”?
In this sentence, Bestefar is used like a proper name, similar to Grandpa in English when you speak directly about or to him.
- Bestefar (capitalized) = Grandpa (used as a name)
- Example: Bestefar er eldst i familien. – Grandpa is the oldest in the family.
- bestefar (not capitalized) = grandfather (the role)
- Example: Min bestefar er eldst i familien. – My grandfather is the oldest in the family.
Norwegian often capitalizes kinship words (Bestefar, Mamma, Pappa, Farmor, etc.) when they are used like names.
Is Bestefar definite or indefinite? Why is there no word for “the” or “my”?