hans/hennes
His/hers
Use hans for 'his' and hennes for 'her/hers' to show possession.
How It Works
The words hans and hennes are used to show that something belongs to someone. They are the Swedish equivalents of 'his' and 'her/hers'.
Key Rule:
The most important thing to remember is that hans and hennes are invariable. This means they never change their form, no matter if the noun is an en-word, an ett-word, or plural.
- hans = his
- hennes = her/hers
Let's see how this works in practice:
Examples with hans (his):
- en-word:
hans bil(his car) - ett-word:
hans hus(his house) - plural:
hans böcker(his books)
As you can see, hans stays the same in all three cases.
Examples with hennes (her/hers):
- en-word:
hennes katt(her cat) - ett-word:
hennes äpple(her apple) - plural:
hennes vänner(her friends)
Again, hennes does not change.
This makes them simpler to use than other possessives like min/mitt/mina or din/ditt/dina, which you have to change to match the noun.
Important Note: Be aware of the pronoun sin/sitt/sina. In a simple clause with a third-person subject and an object noun phrase, sin/sitt/sina normally refers back to that subject, while hans/hennes refers to someone else. This basic contrast must not be generalized to every construction or to possessives inside the subject itself. For example, 'Olle ser hans bil' (Olle sees his [another man's] car) vs. 'Olle tvättar sin bil' (Olle washes his [own] car).
The following noun has indefinite form: hennes bok, not hennes boken. The relation need not be ownership: hennes syster is her sister. Before a noun, English uses her; standing alone, hers: Boken är hennes.
Examples (5)
- Det är hans bok.
That is his book.
Word by Word: It is his book.
- Hennes hus är stort.
Her house is big.
Word by Word: Her house is big.
- Jag känner hans bror.
I know his brother.
Word by Word: I know his brother.
- Var är hennes nycklar?
Where are her keys?
Word by Word: Where are her keys?
- Hans katt heter Måns.
His cat is named Måns.
Word by Word: His cat is-named Måns.
Common Mistakes
Trying to change the form of
hansorhennesto match the noun's gender or number.Det är hanst hus. / Jag ser hennesa vänner.Det är hans hus. / Jag ser hennes vänner.hansandhennesare invariable, meaning they never change. Unlikemin/mitt/mina, you use the same form for en-words, ett-words, and plural nouns.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand 'hans' and 'hennes', learners first need to be familiar with basic personal pronouns and the general concept of possession in Swedish. Unlike 'min' or 'din', these third-person forms are invariable and do not change based on the gender or number of the noun they describe, making them simpler once the basic pronoun system is understood.
Related Patterns
- din/ditt/dinaYour/yours (Singular)
Similar to
Level 1min/mitt/mina,din/ditt/dina(your) also changes form based on the noun, which contrasts with the fixed forms ofhans/hennes. - sin/sitt/sinaHis/her/its/their (Reflexive)
In the simple object pattern, compare Olle ser sin bil (Olle’s own car) and Olle ser hans bil (another man’s car). Possessives inside a subject use hans/hennes: Hans bil är ny. More complex clauses require identifying the local subject and construction.
Level 1 - Basic pronouns
Hans and hennes are genitive forms in the han/hon personal-pronoun paradigms. Learn the complete forms rather than deriving both by simply adding s to the subject form.
Foundations
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Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice hans/hennes in Bubblegum
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