Reflexive pronouns: seg and sin
Seg and sin point back to the subject of the sentence. They are small words, but they decide whether Per takes his own car or the neighbour's. Here you learn the forms and when to use hans and hennes instead.
We teach Bokmål, the written standard most people in Norway use.
In short: seg and sin point back to the subject in the 3rd person: Per vasker seg (Per washes himself). Per vasker bilen sin (his own car). With hans or hennes the owner is someone else.
What is this about?
Reflexive pronouns point back to the subject of the sentence. When Per washes himself, the one being washed is Per. When he takes his own car, the car is Per's as well. These little words decide whose thing we're actually talking about.
Norwegian has two of them in the third person: seg (himself, herself, themselves) and sin (his own, her own, their own). «Per vasker seg» (Per washes himself). «Per tar bilen sin» (Per takes his own car). But «Per tar bilen hans» means he takes another man's car, maybe his neighbour Lars's. Sin changes with the noun: «bilen sin», «hytta si», «huset sitt», «skoene sine».
This is the big trap for English speakers, because his covers both cases. «Per vasker bilen hans» sounds natural to you, but to a Norwegian it means Per is washing another man's car. If the car is his own, say «bilen sin». Remember too that sin only works in the third person, so it's «Jeg tar bilen min» (I take my car), not «bilen sin». You'll use this all the time when you talk about family and things: «Hun besøker foreldrene sine» (she's visiting her parents), «Barna tar med seg matpakkene sine» (the kids bring their packed lunches).
Rules
- The forms: jeg → meg, du → deg, han/hun/den/det → seg, vi → oss, dere → dere, de → seg. Seg only exists in the 3rd person.
- Position: seg comes right after the conjugated verb: Hun setter seg (she sits down). I dag føler han seg bedre. ... fordi han ikke føler seg bra.
- Fixed reflexive verbs: take plain seg: Hun gifter seg i juni (she's getting married in June). De skynder seg. Barna gleder seg til jul.
- Seg selv: when another person could stand there instead: Han snakker med seg selv (he talks to himself). Hun er sint på seg selv, ikke på deg.
- Sin, si, sitt, sine: the owner is the subject: Per tar bilen sin, hytta si, huset sitt og skoene sine (his own car, cabin, house, shoes).
- Hans, hennes: the owner is someone else: Lars er syk, så Per kjører bilen hans (Lars's car). Kari leser boka hennes (another woman's book).
- Plural: De besøker foreldrene sine (their own parents). De besøker foreldrene deres (someone else's parents).
- Never in the subject: sin can't be part of the subject: Per og kona hans kom (Per and his wife came), not kona si. Bilen hans er ny.
- With jeg, du, vi, dere: ordinary possessives: Jeg tar bilen min. Vi besøker foreldrene våre. Tar du med jakka di?
- Subordinate clauses: sin points to the subject of its own clause: Kari sier at Per har lånt sykkelen hennes (Kari's bike).
- With egen: for extra stress: Hun vil ha sitt eget rom (her own room). De har bygd sitt eget hus. Han passer på sine egne ting.
Typical mistake: English «his» covers both cases, so learners use hans everywhere. But Per vasker bilen hans means he washes someone else's car. His own car is bilen sin.
Examples
- Per tar bilen sin til jobben hver dag.Per takes his own car to work every day.
- Lars er syk, så Per kjører bilen hans til verkstedet.Lars is ill, so Per is driving his car to the garage.
- Hun ser på seg selv i speilet og ler.She looks at herself in the mirror and laughs.
- Barna gleder seg til sommerferien på Sørlandet.The children are looking forward to the summer holiday in southern Norway.
- Kari og mannen hennes har flyttet til Tromsø.Kari and her husband have moved to Tromsø.
- De besøker foreldrene sine i Polen hver jul.They visit their parents in Poland every Christmas.
- Jeg har glemt nøklene mine på kontoret.I've left my keys at the office.
- Lise sier at Jonas har lånt sykkelen hennes uten å spørre.Lise says that Jonas has borrowed her bike without asking.