Sin versus hans: reflexive possession in Swedish
What the lesson covers
This lesson explores how Swedish provides more specific information regarding possession compared to English, particularly when using possessive pronouns like "his" or "her."
In English, the word "his" can be ambiguous. For example, in "Adam sits on his chair," "his" could refer to Adam's own chair or someone else's chair (e.g., Joe's chair, if Joe is also present).
Swedish resolves this ambiguity by using two different sets of words: 1. Reflexive Possessive Pronouns (`sin`, `sitt`, `sina`): These are used when the possessor is the same as the subject of the sentence (i.e., "his/her/its/their own"). The lesson focuses on `sin` as a general term. Example: "Adam sitter på sin stol." (Adam sits on his own chair.) Example: "Hon sitter på sin stol." (She sits on her own chair.) Example: "De sitter i sin bil." (They sit in their own car.) 2. Regular Possessive Pronouns (`hans`, `hennes`, `deras`, `min`, `vår`): These are used when the possessor is not the subject of the sentence (i.e., someone else's possession). Example: "Adam sitter på hans stol." (Adam sits on his chair, referring to someone else's chair, e.g., Joe's chair.) Example: "Hon sitter på hennes stol." (She sits on her chair, referring to someone else's chair.) Example: "Hon sitter på hans stol." (She sits on his chair, referring to a male's chair who is not the subject.) Example: "De sitter i deras bil." (They sit in their* car, referring to another group's car.)
Swedish English bil car De They deras their (referring to others) Han He hans his (referring to others) hennes her (referring to others) Hon She i in Jag I ligger lies / is lying min my på on sin his/her/its/their own sitter sits / is sitting stol chair stolen the chair säng bed Vi We vår our
Vocabulary in this lesson
19 words. Inside Lingolib each one is tappable in the transcript and saved to your library with one tap.
How the lesson starts
The opening of the lesson transcript. The rest is in the course, synced to the video.
Sometimes in a language you can have more information given than in another language. So for example, there are certain languages that do not have the word for sibling. Now, of course, sibling would be either your brother or your sister. There are some languages that simply do not have a word for sibling, and that doesn't mean that sibling doesn't exist, of course, the concept of having either a brother or a sister exists.
However, in those languages, you would have to say, "my brother" or "my sister." Or, you can't say, "my sibling." You would have to say, "brother and sister" or "brother or sister," you'd have to repeat both words. So in Swedish, we actually have a little bit more information when it comes to saying "his" or "her." You have a bit more detail there, and we're going to talk a little bit about this in this lesson.
So, let's jump in.
The video plays beside a transcript that follows it line by line. Swedish words are underlined; tap one and the video pauses, the meaning appears, and the word goes into your library. At the end there is a five-question quiz written from this exact lesson, and every word can be practised out loud.