What you will learn
You can say whose something is with min, mitt, din, ditt, hans, hennes and hens, and with a name and s.
My and your
Min means my and din means your, when you talk to one person. They change with the thing, not with the owner. Use min and din with an en-word, and mitt and ditt with an ett-word.
| With an en-word | With an ett-word | |
|---|---|---|
| my | min nyckel (my key) | mitt rum (my room) |
| your | din mobil (your phone) | ditt kök (your kitchen) |
So a man and a woman both say min nyckel and mitt rum. Only the thing decides.
His, her and hens
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| hans | his |
| hennes | her |
| hens | their, for one person who uses hen |
These three words never change, so hans nyckel and hans rum, hennes mobil and hennes kök. Choose the word by the owner. Hans is for someone who uses han, hennes for someone who uses hon, and hens for someone who uses hen.
No ending after these words
After min, mitt, din, ditt, hans, hennes and hens, the noun has no definite ending, just as English says my key and not my the key. Write min nyckel, not min nyckeln.
Examples
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Min nyckel är här. | My key is here. |
| Var är din mobil? | Where is your phone? |
| Mitt rum är bredvid köket. | My room is next to the kitchen. |
| Hans dator är i köket. | His computer is in the kitchen. |
| Hennes väska är på stolen. | Her bag is on the chair. |
| Hens cykel är här. | Their bike is here. (one person who uses hen) |
| Det är min bror. | That is my brother. |
| Är det din syster? | Is that your sister? |
| Ja, det är min syster. | Yes, that is my sister. |
A name with s
Add s to a name to show whose something is. Swedish writes no apostrophe.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Martas bil | Marta’s car |
| Tariqs jacka | Tariq’s jacket |
| Det är Elins bok. | It is Elin’s book. |
The noun after the name has no definite ending either, so Martas bil, not Martas bilen. A name that already ends in s, such as Jonas, gets no extra s.
One more thing about hans and hennes
Sometimes he or she owns the thing and is also the subject of the same sentence, as in Oskar is looking for his own key. Swedish then uses a different word, which comes in a later chapter. In this chapter, hans, hennes and hens are used in other sentences, such as Hans dator är i köket.
Common mistakes
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| mitt nyckel | min nyckel | Nyckel is an en-word, so my is min. |
| din rum | ditt rum | Rum is an ett-word, so your is ditt. |
| min nyckeln | min nyckel | After min the noun has no definite ending. |
| Marta’s bil | Martas bil | Swedish adds s with no apostrophe. |
| Elin och hans bok | Elin och hennes bok | Elin uses hon, so her book is hennes bok. |