Questions & Answers about Elevenes bøker ligger på skrivebordet.
What does the ending -enes in elevenes mean, and how is it formed?
Elevenes is the possessive (genitive) plural of elev (student/pupil).
- elev = student
- elever = students (indefinite plural)
- elevene = the students (definite plural)
- elevenes = the students’ (possessive form of the definite plural)
In Norwegian, to make a possessive of a definite noun, you usually add -s:
- elevene → elevene + s = elevenes (the students’)
Why is it bøker and not bøkene in this sentence?
Bøker is the indefinite plural form of bok (book), and bøkene is the definite plural (the books).
Norwegian often uses the indefinite form of the possessed noun when the possessor is definite and stands before it:
- elevenes bøker = literally: the students’ books (students = definite, books = indefinite)
- You generally do not say elevenes bøkene. That sounds wrong in standard Norwegian.
So: definite possessor (elevenes) + indefinite possessed noun (bøker) is normal.