ens

One's (Impersonal Possessive)

Level 3

'ens' is the possessive pronoun for the impersonal subject 'man'. It means 'one's' or 'your' in a general sense.

How It Works

'ens' is the genitive (possessive) form of the impersonal pronoun man. It's used when you want to express possession related to the general subject 'man'.

Key Characteristics of 'ens':

  • Impersonal Possession: It can refer to a generic person without an explicit preceding man. It translates to 'one's', or sometimes 'your' or 'their' in a general, impersonal context.
  • Invariable Form: Unlike other possessive pronouns (like min/mitt/mina or sin/sitt/sina), 'ens' never changes its form. It stays the same regardless of whether the noun is en-word, ett-word, or plural.

Reflexive possession with 'man': When the possessor is man as the subject of the relevant action, the ordinary reflexive model is sin/sitt/sina.

  • en-word: Man älskar sin familj. (One loves one's family.)
  • ett-word: Man måste skydda sitt hem. (One must protect one's home.)
  • plural: Man bör respektera sina föräldrar. (One should respect one's parents.)

'ens' vs. 'sin/sitt/sina'
This is a common point of confusion. The reflexive sin/sitt/sina points back to the subject of the clause, whether that subject is a specific person or the impersonal 'man'.

  • Use sin/sitt/sina for the clause subject — a specific third person (han, hon, den, det, de) or 'man'.
    Ex: Hon älskar sin katt. (She loves her (own) cat.) / Man älskar sin katt. (One loves one's cat.)
  • Use ens in a nonreflexive position, including when the possessed noun is itself the subject of its clause.
    Ex: När man reser vidgas ens vyer. (When one travels, one's horizons broaden.)

Infinitives Have Their Own Understood Subject
Even without a written man, an infinitive can have a generic understood actor: Det är svårt att se sina egna fel, Att förlora sitt jobb kan vara en stor chock. In these examples, the person seeing or losing is also the possessor, so reflexive sina/sitt is the clear model.

Compare När man reser vidgas ens vyer: ens vyer is the subject of vidgas, and man belongs to the preceding subordinate clause. Another example is Man vill att ens barn ska trivas; ens barn is the embedded subject.

Use ens unchanged with nouns of either gender or number: ens bok, ens hem, ens vänner. The ordinary following noun is not given a definite suffix merely because the possessor is generic.

Examples (4)

  1. Man måste ta hand om sin hälsa.

    One must take care of one's health.

    Word by Word: One must take care of one's health.

  2. Det är svårt att se sina egna fel.

    It's hard to see one's own faults.

    Word by Word: It is hard to see one's own faults.

    The understood generic subject of se is also the possessor of the faults, so use reflexive sina. No overt man is necessary.

  3. När man reser vidgas ens vyer.

    When one travels, one's horizons are broadened.

    Word by Word: When one travels widen one's views.

  4. Att förlora sitt jobb kan vara en stor chock.

    Losing one's job can be a big shock.

    Word by Word: To lose one's job can be a big shock.

    The person losing the job is its possessor. Reflexive sitt refers to that understood actor and agrees with ett jobb.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a specific possessive pronoun like 'hans' or 'hennes' instead of the reflexive 'sin'.

    När man är sjuk, måste man lyssna på hans kropp. (Intended: One’s own body.)
    När man är sjuk, måste man lyssna på sin kropp.

    For the intended own-body meaning, use sin referring to generic man. Hans can refer to a particular male person, but would change who the body belongs to.

  • Incorrectly trying to change the form of 'ens' to agree with the noun.

    Entt beslut är svårt att fatta.
    Ens beslut är svårt att fatta.

    'ens' is an invariable pronoun. It never changes, regardless of whether the noun is an en-word, ett-word ('ett beslut'), or plural. It is always 'ens'.

  • Using 'ens' where the reflexive 'sina' is required.

    I en uppsats bör man alltid citera ens källor.
    I en uppsats bör man alltid citera sina källor.

    In this ordinary reflexive relation, man is the understood citer of its own sources. Use sina källor. Ens is the nonreflexive possessive form, as in Ens källor måste vara tydliga.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ensLevel 3One's (Impersonal Possessive)

Learn This First

To understand 'ens', you first need to be familiar with the impersonal pronoun 'man' (one/you), as 'ens' is its possessive counterpart. It also helps to understand how Swedish uses the -s suffix to show possession and how possessive pronouns function in a sentence.

Words in This Pattern