Possessive Adjectives: Ownership made simple

Possessive adjectives in Swedish are used to indicate ownership or possession. They help us answer the question "Whose?" in a sentence. In Swedish, possessive adjectives agree with the grammatical gender and number of the noun they are describing. Let's dive into the details:

Singular Possessive Adjectives

When referring to a singular noun, use the following possessive adjectives:

• min (my)
• din (your)
• hans (his)
• hennes (her)
• dess (its)
• vår (our)
• er (your)
• deras (their)

Example:

• min bil (my car)
• din bok (your book)
• hans hund (his dog)
• hennes hus (her house)
• vår familj (our family)
• er katt (your cat)
• deras hem (their home)

Plural Possessive Adjectives

When referring to a plural noun, use these possessive adjectives:

• mina (my)
• dina (your)
• hans (his)
• hennes (her)
• dess (its)
• våra (our)
• era (your)
• deras (their)

Example:

• mina bilar (my cars)
• dina böcker (your books)
• hans hundar (his dogs)
• hennes hus (her houses)
• våra familjer (our families)
• era katter (your cats)
• deras hem (their homes)

Common Usages

• To express possession, we typically use the possessive adjective directly before the noun:
  • min vän (my friend)
• If the noun has a definite article (en, ett, or plural form), the possessive adjective comes after the article:
  • en vän till mig (a friend of mine)
  • boken hennes (her book)
• In a sentence with multiple possessive adjectives, each possessive adjective refers to a different noun:
  • Min syster och dina föräldrar är här (My sister and your parents are here)

Exceptions

• When using possessive adjectives with personal pronouns (such as jag, du, or han/hon), we use possessive pronouns instead:
  • (correct) Min bok är intressant. (My book is interesting.)
  • (incorrect) Jag bok är intressant.

That's it! You now have the basic understanding of Swedish possessive adjectives and how to use them to express ownership. Keep practicing and incorporating them into your sentences to strengthen your language skills. Lycka till! (Good luck!)