A2 · Grundkenntnisse Kapitel 31

Reflexive Possessives

4 Gesamtregeln
48 Beispiele
1 Min.
Regeln in diesem Kapitel Schnelle Übung

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the art of clarity by learning when to use Swedish reflexive possessives.

  • Distinguish between owning your own things and someone else's.
  • Match possessive forms to the gender and number of the noun.
  • Avoid the most common grammatical trap in the Swedish language.
Whose is it anyway? Solve the mystery with 'sin'.

Was du lernen wirst

Using 'sin', 'sitt', 'sina' versus 'hans/hennes'. This is a key Swedish grammatical feature.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to correctly identify if a person is interacting with their own property or someone else's.
  2. 2
    By the end you will be able to decline 'sin' into 'sitt' and 'sina' based on the noun gender.
  3. 3
    By the end you will be able to construct sentences that avoid using reflexive possessives in the subject position.

Wichtige Beispiele (8)

1

Varför tvättar han inte sin bil?

Why doesn't he wash his car?

Reflexive Possessive 'Sin'
2

Hon glömde sitt pass hemma.

She forgot her passport at home.

Reflexive Possessive 'Sin'
3

Hon tvättar sina kläder.

She washes her (own) clothes.

Sin vs Hans/Hennes
4

Han ser sin bror.

He sees his (own) brother.

Sin vs Hans/Hennes
5

Han tvättar sin bil varje dag.

He washes his car every day.

Using Sin/Sitt/Sina
6

Hon glömde sitt pass hemma.

She forgot her passport at home.

Using Sin/Sitt/Sina
7

Pojken glömde sin jacka.

The boy forgot his [own] jacket.

Reflexive Possessive Rules
8

Flickan tappade sitt pass.

The girl lost her [own] passport.

Reflexive Possessive Rules

Tipps & Tricks (4)

💡

Check the subject

Before writing 'sin', ask: 'Is the subject the owner?' If yes, use 'sin'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reflexive Possessive 'Sin'
💡

The Subject Check

Always find the subject first. If the subject is the owner, use 'sin'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sin vs Hans/Hennes
💡

The Subject Check

Always find the subject first. If the subject is the owner, use sin/sitt/sina.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using Sin/Sitt/Sina
💡

Check the subject

Always look at the subject of the sentence first. If the subject is the owner, use sin/sitt/sina.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reflexive Possessive Rules

Wichtige Vokabeln (6)

en hund a dog ett barn a child en tidning a newspaper sina vänner one's friends (plural) att tvätta to wash ett hus a house

Real-World Preview

glass-water

The Misunderstanding at the Party

Review Summary

  • Subject + Verb + [Sin/Sitt/Sina] + Object

Häufige Fehler

'Sin' cannot be part of the subject. Since 'mamma' is the subject here, you must use a standard possessive.

Wrong: Sin mamma heter Maria.
Richtig: Hans/Hennes mamma heter Maria.

'Sin' is only used for the 3rd person (he, she, it, they). For 'I' or 'You', use 'min' or 'din'.

Wrong: Jag tvättar sin bil.
Richtig: Jag tvättar min bil.

You must match the gender. 'Hund' is an en-word, so it requires 'sin', not 'sitt'.

Wrong: Han älskar sitt hund.
Richtig: Han älskar sin hund.

Next Steps

You've cleared a major hurdle in Swedish grammar! This distinction is what makes your Swedish sound truly natural and native-like. Keep practicing!

Look at a photo of a family and describe what each person is doing with their own belongings.

Continue to: More Verb Forms

Schnelle Übung (10)

Fill in the blank with the correct reflexive pronoun.

Han tvättar ___ bil.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sin
Subject is 'Han', object is 'bil' (en-word).

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reflexive Possessive 'Sin'

Choose the correct form.

Hon läser ___ bok.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sin
Subject owns the book.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sin vs Hans/Hennes

Fill in the blank.

De har ___ nycklar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sina
Plural agreement.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sin vs Hans/Hennes

Choose the correct sentence.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hon tar sin väska.
Reflexive is required.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reflexive Possessive 'Sin'

Fill in the blank with sin, sitt, or sina.

Han tvättar ___ bil.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sin
Bil is an en-word.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reflexive Possessive Rules

Correct the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

De har sin bilar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: De har sina bilar.
Plural needs 'sina'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using Sin/Sitt/Sina

Fill in the blank.

Han tvättar ___ bil.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sin
Subject is 'Han', so use reflexive.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using Sin/Sitt/Sina

Correct the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Han älskar sin hund och hans hund.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Han älskar sin hund och dennes hund.
Clarification needed.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sin vs Hans/Hennes

Choose the correct form.

Hon tog ___ äpple.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sitt
Ett-word agreement.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sin vs Hans/Hennes

Fix the error in the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Jag tar sin väska.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag tar min väska.
First person requires 'min'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Reflexive Possessive 'Sin'

Score: /10

Häufige Fragen (6)

No, 'sin' is only for the third person (he, she, it, they). Use 'min' for 'I'.
It doesn't matter! 'Sin' is used regardless of the owner's gender.
No, 'sin' is only for third-person subjects.
Use 'sina'.
No, use 'min'. 'Sin' is only for third person.
Always use 'sina'.
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Prepositional Phrases
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More Verb Forms
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