Questions & Answers about Bestefar sitter i båten.
Why is Bestefar capitalized here? Do I always write it with a capital letter?
Bestefar is capitalized here because it’s being used like a name, similar to Grandpa in English.
- When you talk about your specific grandfather and use it as his name, you often capitalize it:
- Bestefar sitter i båten. – Grandpa is sitting in the boat.
- When you talk about grandfathers in general, you usually don’t:
- En bestefar sitter i båten. – A grandfather is sitting in the boat.
- Bestefaren min sitter i båten. – My grandfather is sitting in the boat. (here bestefaren is not a name, so lowercase is common)
So: capital letter when it works as a proper name, lowercase when it’s just a common noun.
Does Bestefar mean “grandfather” or “grandpa”? Is it formal or informal?
Bestefar can correspond to both grandfather and grandpa, depending on context and tone.
- As what you call your own grandfather, it’s quite warm and normal, like Grandpa.
- As a neutral term for someone’s grandfather, it works like grandfather:
- Han er bestefar. – He is a grandfather.
There are also more specific words:
- farfar – father’s father
- morfar – mother’s father
But bestefar is the most general everyday word.