Possessive relexive pronouns
Compare:
Hon talar med hennes syster.
Hon talar med sin syster.
Whose sister is it?
Possessive pronouns, for example min, hennes, and deras, are used to describe ownership. Most possessive pronouns are inflected according to the word it describes. Example: Min vän. Vårt hus.
Personal pronouns
jag
du
han
hon
den, det
vi
ni
de
Possessive pronouns
min, mitt, mina
din, ditt, dina
hans
hennes
dess
vår, vårt, våra
er, ert, era
deras
Reflexive possessive pronouns
Reflexive possessive pronouns, for example sitt, deras, and ert, also describe ownership but refer back to the subject in the clause. Many find it difficult to know whether to use sin/sitt/sina or hans/hennes/dess/deras.
Possessive pronouns
min, mitt, mina
din, ditt, dina
hans
hennes
dess
vår, vårt, våra
er, ert, era
deras
Possessive reflexive pronouns
min, mitt, mina
din, ditt, dina
sin, sitt, sina
sin, sitt, sina
sin, sitt, sina
vår, vårt, våra
er, ert, era
sin, sitt, sina
What is the difficulty?
The reflexive possessive pronouns are used when you are talking about something that belongs to the subject in the clause.
Emil träffar ofta sina kusiner. / Emil often sees his cousins.
Here we are talking about Emil's cousins. The pronoun "sina" (his) refers back to the subject (Emil) of the clause.
Emil träffar ofta hans kusiner. / Emil often sees his cousins.
Here we are talking about someone elses cousins. The pronoun "hans" (his) refers to someone else.
A few more examples:
-
Anna talar med sin syster i telefon. (Anna is talking to her own sister.)
-
Familjen Andersson tycker bra om sitt nya hus. (The family like their own house.)
-
Tomas lägger sina böcker på bordet. (It is Tomas who puts his books on the table.)
-
Olivia pratar med hennes lärare. (Olivia is talking to someone elses teacher.)
-
Peter brukar ofta hälsa på hans bror. (Peter often visits someone elses brother.)
-
Hela laget hälsar på deras tränare. (The whole team greats another teams coach.)
Note:
Hans, hennes and deras
Hans, hennes and deras are used:
1. When the pronoun is the subject or part of the subject. Examples:
-
Deras lag vann turneringen. ("Deras" is the subject)
-
Hennes bror går i min klass. ("Hennes bror" is the subject)
2. When the pronoun doesn't refer to the subject in the clause. Examples:
-
John brukar låna hans skor. (It isn't John's shoes)
-
Lisa och Lukas ska provspela i deras lag. (It isn't Lisa's and Lukas' team)
Sin, sitt and sina
Sin, sitt and sina are used:
1. When the pronoun refers back to the subject in the clause. Examples:
-
Sara läser sin bok. ("Sara" is the subject)
-
Jonna skriver i sitt anteckningsblock. ("Jonna" is the subject)
-
Adrian ställer sina väskor på golvet. ("Adrian" is the subject)
