Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden.

I write my name on the page.

Breakdown of Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden.

• jeg: I
• skrive: to write
• på: on
• mitt: my
• navnet: the name
• siden: the side

Questions & Answers about Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden.

Why is it navnet mitt and not mitt navn, since English says “my name”?

Norwegian allows both orders, but they are used differently.

• navnet mitt (noun + possessive after) is the normal, neutral way to say my name.
• mitt navn (possessive before the noun) is more formal, emphatic, or contrastive, e.g. “MY name (as opposed to someone else’s)”.

So Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden is the most natural version in everyday speech and writing.

Why is it navnet (with -et) and not just navn?

navn is a neuter noun:

• indefinite: et navn – a name
• definite: navnet – the name

When the possessive pronoun comes after the noun (as in navnet mitt), the noun is put in the definite form:

• navnet mitt = my name (literally “the name my”)
• boka mi = my book (literally “the book my”)
• huset vårt = our house (literally “the house our”)

So you need navnet, not bare navn, in this pattern.

Why is the possessive mitt, not min?

The form of the possessive pronoun depends on the gender/number of the noun it refers to:

• min – for masculine nouns: min bil (my car)
• mi – for feminine nouns: mi bok (my book)
• mitt – for neuter nouns: mitt hus (my house)
• mine – for any plural: mine bøker (my books)

Since navn is a neuter noun (et navn), the correct possessive form is mitt: navnet mitt.

Could I say Jeg skriver mitt navn på siden instead? Is it wrong?

It’s not wrong, but it sounds:

• more formal, or
• like you’re putting special emphasis on my (as opposed to someone else’s name).

In everyday Norwegian, Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden is what you’d usually say.
Jeg skriver mitt navn på siden might appear in official contexts, forms, legal language, or when you want stress: “I am writing MY name on the page.”

Why do we need mitt at all? What would Jeg skriver navnet på siden mean?

• Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden = I write my name on the page.
• Jeg skriver navnet på siden = I write the name on the page (some specific name that has already been mentioned or is understood from context).

Without mitt, it’s just “the name”, not necessarily your name. The possessive makes it clear whose name it is.

What does på siden literally mean, and why på and not another preposition?

Literally, på siden is:

• på = on
• siden = the side or the page (context decides)

Norwegian normally uses på for writing on flat surfaces:

• på siden – on the page / on the side
• på tavla – on the (black)board
• på veggen – on the wall

So Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden follows the usual pattern “write something on a surface” → skrive noe på noe.

Is siden “side” or “page”? Why is it definite?

The noun is (ei/en) side:

• side – side / page (indefinite)
• siden – the side / the page (definite)

In context, side often means page in a book or notebook, so siden often means the page. It’s definite because we are talking about a particular page, understood from context (e.g. the page in front of you, the page of the form).

So på siden = on the (relevant) page/side.

Can I say på en side instead of på siden?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

• på siden = on the page / on that specific page
• på en side = on a page / on one (unspecified) page

Use på siden when both speaker and listener know which page you mean, or it’s obvious from context. Use på en side when the page is not specific.

Why is it Jeg skriver and not something like Jeg er å skrive, like English “I am writing”?

Norwegian doesn’t form the present continuous the same way English does. The simple present form is used for:

• general truths: Jeg skriver mye. – I write a lot.
• actions happening right now: Jeg skriver nå. – I am writing now.

So Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden can mean both:

• “I write my name on the page” (habitually)
• “I am writing my name on the page (right now)”

You don’t say Jeg er å skrive; that’s incorrect in Norwegian.

Can I move på siden to the front: På siden skriver jeg navnet mitt?

Yes, that is grammatically correct. It sounds more like you are emphasizing where you write your name:

• Jeg skriver navnet mitt på siden. – neutral word order.
• På siden skriver jeg navnet mitt. – “On the page is where I write my name.”

Both are fine; the original sentence is just the most neutral and common.

What is the subject and the verb in this sentence?

• Subject: Jeg – I
• Verb: skriver – write / am writing

The rest is the object and an adverbial:

• navnet mitt – direct object (my name)
• på siden – adverbial of place (on the page)

How would this change in the past tense?

Just change the verb skriver to its past form skrev:

• Jeg skrev navnet mitt på siden.
  = I wrote my name on the page.

How do you pronounce navnet mitt and på siden together in normal speech?

Roughly, in a common Eastern Norwegian pronunciation:

• navnet mitt → NAV-neh mitt
  
  • navn: the v is usually pronounced
  • -et: a schwa-like -eh sound
• på siden → po SEE-den
  
  • å like the o in more (but shorter)
  • i like the ee in see

The sentence flows as: JEG SKRIV-er NAV-neh mitt po SEE-den (with natural Norwegian rhythm and some sounds slightly reduced in fast speech).