# Swedish: sin/ sitt/ sina



## gvergara

Hej:

One grammar book I read stipulates the following rules concerning the use of _sin _instead of _hans/ hennes/ deras_ 

1) _Sin/ Sitt/ Sina _ are used when referring back to the subject of the sentence (_Per besöker *sin *mamma_  because _sin_ refers to _Per_, the subject of the sentence.)
2) _Sin/ Sitt/ Sina_ and the noun they refer to cannot be placed together (_Jag känner *Per*. *Hans *bror arbetar... , but Jag känner *Per*. *Sin *bror arbetar... _, because _Per _and the corresponding possessive are placed together.)

Taking this into account, I would like to know if these sentences are correct

1) _*Per *är gift. *Sin *fru heter Johana. _ (both conditions are met. (1) _Sin_ refers to _Per_, the subject of the (previous) sentence and (2), as they are separated)
2) _George gick till partyt med *sin* bror. _ (Does the use of _sin/ sitt/ sina_ also apply when the noun is introduced by a preposition?)
3) _Sade du, att Per inte gillar sin bil?_
_*Sin *bil gillar han, men han gillar inte sin motorcykel. _(Might sound awkward I know, but I wante to place the possessive sin before the subject of the sentence)

Thanks in advance,
Gonzalo


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## Dexter_prog

They are omitting one important and easy rule: sentences can't being with "sin". That's why both or your sentences are incorrect.


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## reginanoctis

1) is incorrect, it must be "*Hans* fru heter Johanna". I think it's because "sin" always refers back to the subject of the (same!) clause, and therefore cannot be used as a subject itself? "Per är gift med sin fru Johanna", for example, would be correct.
2) is correct, it applies in this case as well.
3) is correct, because "Sin bil gillar han" is the same thing as "Han gillar sin bil".


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## gvergara

reginanoctis said:


> 3) is correct, because "Sin bil gillar han" is the same thing as "Han gillar sin bil".


Thanks. So, _sin/ sitt/ sina _ don't necessarily refer BACK to the subject (a "forward reference" is possible, as in sentence Nº3))

Gonzalo


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## Dexter_prog

Well, it is referring to the subject...

Reginanoctis, are you sure one can start sentences with "sin"? Even though it may be valid, his third example sounds naturally wrong to me for that reason. I mean, it sounds forced.

Gonzalo, do you understand the difference between these 2 sentences?
1) Erik hade party. _George gick till partyt med *sin* bror
_2) Erik hade party. _George gick till partyt med *hans* bror_


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## hanne

I agree that sentences definitely can start with "sin" (at least in Danish, and I expect Swedish to work the same in this case).
Per kan ikke lide sin motorcykel. Sin bil er han derimod meget glad for.


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## mosletha

From a Norwegian perspective, I would agree that sentences in general should not start with "sin". Something like "_med sine kjære feira Eirik jola_" sounds fine to me, but "_sine kjære feira Eirik jola med_" does not. It sounds very weird.


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## reginanoctis

Yes, definitely. I think it's more common when contrasting several things. For example, this example sounds a bit forced, even if it's acceptable:
1) Erik hade party. Sin bror gick George till partyt med.
While these sound more natural:
2) George lämnade sin syster hemma. Sin bror (däremot) gick han till partyt med.
3) Sin bror gick han till partyt med, men sin syster lämnade han hemma.


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## solregn

reginanoctis said:


> Yes, definitely. I think it's more common when contrasting several things. For example, this example sounds a bit forced, even if it's acceptable:
> 1) Erik hade party. Sin bror gick George till partyt med.
> While these sound more natural:
> 2) George lämnade sin syster hemma. Sin bror (däremot) gick han till partyt med.
> 3) Sin bror gick han till partyt med, men sin syster lämnade han hemma.


 
I don't really agree here - the only example that sounds natural to me is (2), and that under the condition that you include "däremot" to underline the contrast. The best thing might even be to replace the period by a semi-colon to avoid the sentence starting with "sin"; it does look a bit strange, I think!


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