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sin or hans? Danish reflexive possessives made simple
Use sin, sit or sine when something belongs to the subject of the same clause, and that subject is han, hun, den, det or a name. Use hans or hendes when it belongs to someone else.
English has one word, Danish has two
“Peter washes his car” is ambiguous in English: his own car, or another man's? Danish removes the doubt.
- Peter vasker sin bil.Peter washes his (own) car.
- Peter vasker hans bil.Peter washes his car, meaning some other man's.
Which is why Han kysser sin kone is a sweet sentence, and Han kysser hans kone is a scandal: he is kissing another man's wife.
- Mariasubject
- ringer tilverb
- sin= Maria's own
- morthing
Quick check
“Anna is reading her (own) book.” Anna læser ___ bog.
sin. The book belongs to Anna, the subject, and bog is an en-word. hendes would mean some other woman's book.
Show answer
sin. It is Anna's own book, and bog is an en-word.
sin, sit or sine?
The ending follows the thing that is owned, not the owner, just like min, mit, mine:
- Hun sælger sin cykel.en cykel: sin
- Hun sælger sit hus.et hus: sit
- Hun sælger sine bøger.plural: sine
Quick check
“She has sold her (own) house.” Hun har solgt ___ hus.
sit. hus is an et-word, so it takes sit.
Show answer
sit, because hus is an et-word.
Three places sin can never go
1. Inside the subject itself. sin points back to the subject, so it cannot be part of it:
- Hans kone er sød.His wife is nice.
- Peter og hans søster bor i Odense.Peter and his sister live in Odense.
- Peter og sin søster bor i Odense.The sister is part of the subject, so: hans.
2. With plural subjects. sin only works with a singular subject. With de, use deres: De vasker deres bil.
3. With jeg, du, vi and I. They have their own words: Jeg vasker min bil. Vi vasker vores bil.
Quick check
“Thomas and his sister live in Odense.” Thomas og ___ søster bor i Odense.
hans. Thomas og hans søster is the whole subject, and sin can never be inside the subject.
Show answer
hans. The sister is part of the subject.
Two clauses? Check each one
sin only looks at the subject of its own clause. In a sentence with at, the at-clause has its own subject:
- Peter siger, at han har solgt sin bil.In the at-clause the subject is han, and the car is his own: sin.
- Peter siger, at hans bil er gammel.Here hans bil is the subject of the at-clause, so: hans.
Cheat sheet
| Situation | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Owner = singular 3rd-person subject | sin / sit / sine | Hun sælger sit hus. |
| Owner = someone else | hans / hendes | Hun sælger hans hus. |
| Inside the subject | hans / hendes | Hendes hus er stort. |
| Subject is de | deres | De sælger deres hus. |
Practise it. Pronomenmysteriet has a whole case on sin or hans, plus jeg/mig and min/mit/mine.
Play Pronomenmysteriet →