3.6 Ownership with Prepositional Phrases
Use of noun + prepositional phrase to show ownership
Ownership can also be expressed by the use of a definite noun followed by a prepositional phrase. The most common preposition is “til”.
Foreldrene eier ei hytte. Det er hytta til foreldrene.
Erik eier en hund. Det er hunden til Erik.
NB! This construction can only be used when a noun is the owner, not a pronoun.
When an indefinite noun is owned, the preposition “av” is used. This implies a less exclusive relationship than using the definite noun plus “til”.
Jeg har noen venner. De er venner av meg. (They are friends of mine.)
NB! Norwegian uses the object form of the pronoun after the preposition, while English uses the possessive pronoun.