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Lesson 15A1

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives

Swedish possessives — my, your, our — agree with the thing owned, just like ordinary adjectives do. A few, though, never change at all.

Grammar Comparison

Grammar Comparison

min/mitt/mina agree with the thing owned

Swedish

min bil, mitt hus, mina böcker

English

my car, my house, my books

min, mitt, and mina all mean "my" — which one you use depends on the noun that follows: min with en-words (min bil), mitt with ett-words (mitt hus), mina with any plural (mina böcker). This is exactly the en/ett/plural pattern you already learned for ordinary adjectives, just applied to possessives.

hans, hennes, and deras never change

Swedish

hans bil, hans hus, hans böcker — all use hans

English

his car, his house, his books

Unlike min/mitt/mina, the possessives hans (his), hennes (her), and deras (their) stay exactly the same no matter what they modify — hans bil and hans hus both use hans, even though bil and hus have different genders. These three are a welcome shortcut: no agreement to think about at all.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

minmeen
English
my (en-word)
mittmit
English
my (ett-word)
minaMEE-nah
English
my (plural)
dindeen
English
your (en-word)
dittdit
English
your (ett-word)
hanshans
English
his
hennesHEN-es
English
her
vårvohr
English
our (en-word)
vårtvohrt
English
our (ett-word)
derasDEH-ras
English
their