What you will learn
You can say our, your and their with vår, er and deras, and you can name the people in a family.
Our, your and their
| With an en-word | With an ett-word | With a plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| vår bil | vårt hus | våra barn | our |
| er bil | ert hus | era barn | your, to two or more people |
| deras bil | deras hus | deras barn | their |
| min bil | mitt hus | mina barn | my |
| din bil | ditt hus | dina barn | your, to one person |
Vår changes with the thing that is owned, just like min, mitt and mina. Use er, ert and era when you talk to two or more people, the people you call ni. To one person, say din, ditt and dina. Deras never changes, like hans and hennes.
Mina and dina are for more than one thing, even when there is one owner, as in mina skor. The thing that is owned decides the form, not the owner.
The noun after all of these words has no definite ending. Say vår bil and våra barn.
Er can also mean you after a verb, as in Jag ringer er i kväll. Before a noun, it means your.
The family
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| en förälder, två föräldrar | a parent, two parents |
| ett syskon | a brother or a sister |
| en farmor, en farfar | your father’s mother and father |
| en mormor, en morfar | your mother’s mother and father |
| ett barnbarn | a grandchild |
| en kusin | a cousin |
| en moster | your mother’s sister |
| en morbror | your mother’s brother |
| en faster | your father’s sister |
| en farbror | your father’s brother |
Syskon is one word for brothers and sisters together, as in Vi är tre syskon. Farmor, farfar, mormor and morfar are often used like names, as in Farmor bor i Osaka. Their first part shows the side of the family.
English aunt and uncle do not normally specify which side of the family. Swedish distinguishes moster and morbror on the mother’s side from faster and farbror on the father’s side. These words can also include relatives through marriage. In an exercise, use the relationship that the situation actually gives you.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Min mammas syster är min moster. | My mother’s sister is my aunt on my mother’s side. |
| Min pappas bror är min farbror. | My father’s brother is my uncle on my father’s side. |
| Vår moster bor i Lund. | Our aunt on our mother’s side lives in Lund. |
| Deras farbror heter Tariq. | Their uncle on their father’s side is called Tariq. |
Examples
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Det här är vår lägenhet. | This is our flat. |
| Våra barn heter Ida och Viktor. | Our children are called Ida and Viktor. |
| Var bor era föräldrar? | Where do your parents live? |
| Aiko och hennes man har två barn. Deras son är sju år. | Aiko and her husband have two children. Their son is seven. |
Common mistakes
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Det är vår bilen. | Det är vår bil. | After vår, the noun has no definite ending. |
| Vår barn sover. | Våra barn sover. | Barn is an ett-word, so it is vårt barn for one child and våra barn for more. |
| Är det din väska? | You talk to one person, so use din. |