MLW #16: Reflexive possessive pronouns (1)
- onlinesprakcafe
- Jul 29
- 5 min read
🎓 Reflexive possessive pronouns are used to indicate the ownership by the subject in the sentence.
Jag tvättar min bil. I am washing my (own) car.
Han torkar sitt hår. He is drying his (own) hair.
Vi berättar vår historia. We are telling our (own) story.
Personal, possessive & reflexive possessive pronouns in Swedish
personal pronouns in subject form | possessive pronouns | reflexive possessive pronouns |
jag (I) | min / mitt / mina (my) | min / mitt / mina (my own) |
du (you) | din / ditt / dina (your) | din / ditt / dina (your own) |
han (he) | hans (his) | sin / sitt / sina (his own) |
hon (she) | hennes (her) | sin / sitt / sina (her own) |
hen (unknown gender) | hens (-) | sin / sitt / sina (-) |
den / det (it) | dess (its) | sin / sitt / sina (its own) |
vi (we) | vår / vårt / våra (our) | vår / vårt / våra (our own) |
ni (you) | er / ert / era (your) | er / ert / era (your own) |
de (they) | deras (their) | sin / sitt / sina (their own) |
🎓 As shown in the table, all reflexive possessive pronouns in Swedish are the same as possessive pronouns except for those in the third person. Then hans / hennes / hens / dess / deras become sin / sitt / sina.
Du tvättar min bil. You are washing my car.
Jag tvättar min bil. I am washing my (own) car.
but:
Du tvättar deras bil. You are washing their car.
De tvättar sin bil. They are washing their (own) car.
🎓 The reflexive possessive pronouns in the first and in the second person change form depending on whether they are in combination with a en-noun, a ett-noun, or a plural noun.
Jag tvättar min bil. I am washing my (own) car.
Jag torkar mitt bord. I am wiping my (own) table.
Jag tvättar mina strumpor. I am washing my (own) socks.
Han tvättar sin bil. He is washing his (own) car.
Han torkar sitt bord. He is wiping his (own) table.
Han tvättar sina strumpor. He is washing his (own) socks.
🎓 Reflexive possessive pronouns, the same as possessive pronouns, always combine with nouns in indefinite form.
Jag tvättar min bil.
not:
Jag tvättar min bilen.
Exercises
Choose the sentence(s) with a reflexive possessive pronoun:
A. Han tog min bok. He took my book.
B. Jag lär mig svenska. I am learning Swedish.
C. Vi gjorde våra övningar. We did our exercises.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Jag lär mig svenska från mina böcker. I learn Swedish from my books.
B. Han gör övningarna på hans dator. He does the exercises on his computer.
C. Vi använder vår mobil för att lära oss svenska. We use our mobile to learn Swedish.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Vi läser våra böcker. We read our books.
B. De läser sina böcker. They read their books.
C. Hon visar mig sin ordbok. She is showing me her dictionary.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Jäg läser mitt bok. (en bok) I am reading my book.
B. Han gör sina övningar själv. (en övning) He does his exercises himself.
C. Vi använder vårt mobil för att lära oss svenska. (en mobil) We use our mobile phone to learn Swedish.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Hon går regelbundet på sin lektioner. (en lektion) She attends her lessons regularly.
B. Vi betalar mycket för vårt kurs. (en kurs) We pay a lot for our course.
C. De sitter vid sitt bord medan de lär sig svenska. (ett bord) They sit at their table while they learn Swedish.
Choose the grammatically correct sentence(s):
A. Hon skrev sin uppsatsen på svenska. She wrote her essay in Swedish.
B. De lånade oss sina böcker. They lent us their books.
C. Behöver man förbättra sitt utalet? Does one need to improve your pronunciation?
Choose the grammatically correct sentence(s):
A. De läser sina böckerna. They are reading their books.
B. Han gör hans övningar själv. He does his exercises himself.
C. Hon visar mig sin uppsats. She is showing me her essay.
How many different grammatical errors are there in the following sentence regarding reflexive possessive pronouns? There can be more than one grammatical error in one word!
Du sitter vid sin bord medan du gör dina övningarna. You sit at your table while you do your exercises.
A. 3
B. 2
C. 4
How many different grammatical errors are there in the following sentence regarding reflexive possessive pronouns? There can be more than one grammatical error in one word!
Jag lärde mig mycket från sin vänner. I learned a lot from my friends.
A. 3
B. 2
C. 4
Choose the incorrect answer(s):
A. Reflexive possessive pronouns in Swedish always combine with nouns in definite form.
B. In the first and in the second person reflexive possessive pronouns in Swedish are the same as possessive pronouns.
C. Reflexive possessive pronouns are used to indicate the ownership by the subject in the sentence.
Correct answers
Choose the sentence(s) with a reflexive possessive pronoun:
A. Han tog min bok. - possessive pronoun
B. Jag lär mig svenska. - reflexive pronoun
C. Vi gjorde våra övningar.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Jag lär mig svenska från mina böcker.
B. Han gör övningarna på hans dator. - Han gör övningarna på sin dator.
C. Vi använder vår mobil för att lära oss svenska.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Vi läser våra böcker.
B. De läser sina böcker.
C. Hon visar mig sin ordbok.
Choose the answer(s) with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Jäg läser mitt bok. (en bok) - Jäg läser min bok.
B. Han gör sina övningar själv. (en övning)
C. Vi använder vårt mobil för att lära oss svenska. (en mobil) - Vi använder vår mobil för att lära oss svenska.
Choose the answer(s) with with grammatically correct use of reflexive possessive pronouns:
A. Hon går regelbundet på sin lektioner. (en lektion) - Hon går regelbundet på sina lektioner.
B. Vi betalar mycket för vårt kurs. (en kurs) - Vi betalar mycket för vår kurs.
C. De sitter vid sitt bord medan de lär sig svenska. (ett bord)
Choose the grammatically correct sentence(s):
A. Hon skrev sin uppsatsen på svenska. - Hon skrev sin uppsats på svenska.
B. De lånade oss sina böcker.
C. Behöver man förbättra sitt uttalet? - Behöver man förbättra sitt uttal?
Choose the grammatically correct sentence(s):
A. De läser sina böckerna. - De läser sina böcker.
B. Du gör din övningen själv. - Du gör din övning själv.
C. Hon visar mig sin uppsats.
How many different grammatical errors are there in the following sentence regarding reflexive possessive pronouns? There can be more than one grammatical error in one word!
Du sitter vid sin bord medan du gör dina övningarna. - Du sitter vid ditt (1,2) bord medan du gör dina övningar (3).
A. 3
B. 2
C. 4
How many different grammatical errors are there in the following sentence regarding reflexive possessive pronouns? There can be more than one grammatical error in one word!
Du lärde dig mycket från sin vänner. - Du lärde dig mycket från dina (1,2) vänner.
A. 3
B. 2
C. 4
Choose the incorrect answer(s):
A. Reflexive possessive pronouns in Swedish always combine with nouns in definite form. - indefinite form
B. In the first and in the second person reflexive possessive pronouns in Swedish are the same as possessive pronouns.
C. Reflexive possessive pronouns are used to indicate the ownership by the subject in the sentence.
