Bestefar vokste opp i en liten by.

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Breakdown of Bestefar vokste opp i en liten by.

• liten: small
• i: in
• bestefaren: the grandfather

Questions & Answers about Bestefar vokste opp i en liten by.

Why is there no word for “my” before Bestefar? In English we say “My grandfather grew up…”, but the Norwegian sentence just has Bestefar.

In Norwegian, close family titles can be used on their own when it’s clear whose family member you’re talking about.
So Bestefar vokste opp i en liten by naturally means “(My) Grandfather grew up in a small town.” in context.
Here Bestefar functions almost like a name, similar to how English sometimes uses “Granddad” or “Grandpa” without my when it’s obvious who you mean.

If I want to say “my grandfather” explicitly, how do I say that in Norwegian?

You have two main options in Bokmål:

• Bestefaren min vokste opp i en liten by.
• Min bestefar vokste opp i en liten by.

Both mean “My grandfather grew up in a small town.”
The pattern bestefaren min (definite noun + possessive after) is the most typical and neutral in everyday Norwegian.
Min bestefar is also correct, but sounds a bit more formal or written.

What is the infinitive of vokste, and how is this verb conjugated?