Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg liker huset ditt.

hus = a house / (a) house (indefinite, general)
- Jeg liker hus. = I like houses (in general).
huset = the house (definite, a specific one both speakers know about)
- Jeg liker huset ditt. = I like your house (that particular one).

So in Jeg liker huset ditt, you are clearly talking about one specific house that belongs to the person you’re speaking to.

Why is the possessive ditt used here, and not din, di, or dine?

The form of the possessive agrees with the gender and number of the noun, not the gender of the owner.

For your (singular) in Norwegian:

din – with masculine nouns (en bil → bilen din = your car)
di – with feminine nouns (ei bok → boka di = your book)
ditt – with neuter nouns (et hus → huset ditt = your house)
dine – with plural nouns (hus (pl.) → husene dine = your houses)

Because hus is a neuter noun (et hus), the correct possessive form is ditt.
Hence: huset ditt.

Can I also say Jeg liker ditt hus? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, Jeg liker ditt hus is grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:

Jeg liker huset ditt.
- Neutral, everyday way to say I like your house.
- Refers to a specific, known house.
- Very common in spoken Norwegian.
Jeg liker ditt hus.
- Feels a bit more formal or emphatic.
- Focuses more on your: I like *your house (as opposed to someone else’s)*.
- Grammatically it is indefinite (no -et on hus), so a bit less “anchored” to a particular, already-known house in the context.

In most everyday situations, Norwegians would naturally say Jeg liker huset ditt.

Why is the possessive after the noun here (huset ditt) instead of before it, like in English your house?

Norwegian can put the possessive either:

After the noun (the most common, neutral pattern):
- huset ditt = your house
  This is the normal, everyday way when talking about a specific thing.
Before the noun:
- ditt hus
  This often adds emphasis or a contrastive feel:
- Jeg liker ditt hus, men ikke huset til naboen.
  = I like your house, but not the neighbor’s house.

So:

huset ditt – neutral, specific, very common.
ditt hus – stylistic/contrastive or somewhat more formal in many contexts.

For simple sentences like Jeg liker huset ditt, postposing the possessive is what you should normally use.

What verb form is liker? How do I say to like and other forms of this verb?

The infinitive is å like = to like.

Basic forms of å like in standard Bokmål:

Infinitive: å like (to like)
Present: liker (like / likes)
- Jeg liker huset ditt. = I like your house.
Past: likte (liked)
- Jeg likte huset ditt. = I liked your house.
Past participle: likt
- Jeg har likt huset ditt. = I have liked your house.

The good news: liker is the same for all persons:

jeg liker, du liker, han liker, vi liker, etc.

Can I say Jeg elsker huset ditt instead? What is the difference between liker and elsker?

å like = to like
å elske = to love

Jeg elsker huset ditt. literally means I love your house.
This is stronger than Jeg liker huset ditt, just as in English.

Nuance:

Jeg liker huset ditt.
- Neutral: I like your house.
Jeg liker huset ditt veldig godt.
- Strong like: I like your house very much.
Jeg elsker huset ditt.
- Very strong, enthusiastic: I love your house.

Norwegians do use elske about things (like a house), but liker (veldig godt) is more common and sounds a bit more down-to-earth.

Do I always have to say jeg, or can I drop it the way subject pronouns are often dropped in Spanish or Italian?

You must normally include the subject pronoun in Norwegian.

Jeg liker huset ditt. – correct.
Liker huset ditt. – sounds like a fragment or a note, not a full normal sentence.

Norwegian is not a “null-subject” language like Spanish or Italian. You need jeg, du, han, etc., in ordinary sentences.

Why is jeg not capitalized like the English I?

In Norwegian, jeg (meaning I) is not capitalized unless it happens to be the first word of the sentence.

General rule:

Capitalize:
- First word of a sentence
- Proper names (people, places, companies, etc.)
Do not capitalize simple pronouns like jeg, du, han, hun.

So jeg is normally written with a small j, unlike English I which is always capitalized.

What is the basic word order in Jeg liker huset ditt? Could I say something like Jeg ditt hus liker?

The normal main-clause word order in Norwegian is Subject – Verb – Object (SVO), just like English.

Jeg (subject) liker (verb) huset ditt (object).

You cannot scramble the words arbitrarily:

Jeg liker huset ditt. – correct.
Jeg ditt hus liker. – wrong.

You can sometimes move parts for emphasis, but Norwegian has a verb-second rule in main clauses: the finite verb (here liker) should come in second position, no matter what comes first:

Jeg liker huset ditt. – subject first, verb second.
Huset ditt liker jeg veldig godt. – object first, verb still second.

So stick with Jeg liker huset ditt as the neutral form.

How would I say I like your houses in Norwegian?

You need both a plural noun and the plural possessive.

Plural of hus:
- Indefinite plural: hus
- Definite plural: husene = the houses

For your (plural), use dine:

husene dine = your houses (the specific houses that are yours)

So:

Jeg liker husene dine. = I like your houses.

How would the sentence change with other nouns, like car or book, so I can see how din / di / ditt / dine work?

Here are some parallel examples:

Masculine noun: bil (car)
- en bil = a car
- bilen din = your car
- Jeg liker bilen din. = I like your car.
Feminine noun: bok (book)
In Bokmål, bok can be treated as feminine or masculine.
Feminine pattern:
- ei bok = a book
- boka di = your book
- Jeg liker boka di. = I like your book.
Masculine pattern (also common):
- en bok = a book
- boken din = your book
- Jeg liker boken din.
Plural: cars / books
- bilene dine = your cars
  - Jeg liker bilene dine. = I like your cars.
- bøkene dine = your books
  - Jeg liker bøkene dine. = I like your books.

The key pattern is that din / di / ditt / dine always agree with the noun they belong to, in gender and number.

How do you pronounce Jeg liker huset ditt naturally?

In a common East Norwegian pronunciation (Oslo area), it might sound like:

IPA: [jæɪ ˈliːkər ˈhʉːsə dɪt]

Approximate English-friendly guide:

Jeg ≈ yai (like “yay” with a slightly more open vowel)
liker ≈ LEE-ker (stress on LEE)
huset ≈ HOO-seh (often the final -t is very weak or silent)
ditt ≈ dit

So the whole sentence is roughly: yai LEE-ker HOO-seh dit.