Learn Hardcore Danish: De inviterer deres veninde, men hun tager sine egne bøger med. - They invite their female friend, but she brings her own books.

deres = “their” (non‑reflexive, or when the subject is plural)
sin/sit/sine = “his/her/its/their own” (reflexive, normally referring back to a singular 3rd person subject: han/hun/den/det)

In this sentence the subject is De (“they”). With a plural subject, Danish normally uses deres, not sin, to avoid confusion about whose friend it is.

De inviterer deres veninde …
→ They invite their (female) friend …
(It’s simply “their friend”; we don’t highlight that she is “their own” friend.)

If we used sin veninde here, it would sound odd or ambiguous, and is generally avoided with a plural subject like de.

What is the difference between “ven” and “veninde”?

Both mean “friend”, but:

ven = (usually) male friend or a friend of unspecified gender.
veninde = female friend.

So deres veninde specifically means “their female friend”.

In everyday speech, some people now also use ven more gender‑neutrally, but veninde is still very common and clearly marks the friend as female.

Why is “inviterer” in the present tense if in English I might say “They are going to invite their friend”?

Danish uses the present tense very broadly, often where English uses a “going to” or “will” future.

De inviterer deres veninde
can mean:
- “They invite their (female) friend” (general/regular action), or
- “They are inviting / they’re going to invite their (female) friend” (near future, planned).

Danish does have ways to mark future more clearly (e.g. kommer til at, vil, skal), but simple present tense is very common for planned future actions, especially when the context or time reference makes it clear.

Why is there a comma before “men”?

In Danish, you always put a comma before men when it introduces a new clause:

…, men hun tager sine egne bøger med.

Here men means “but” and starts a new clause with its own subject (hun) and verb (tager), so a comma is required according to standard Danish punctuation rules.

So this comma is not optional; it’s part of normal Danish writing conventions.

What does “tager … med” mean, and why is “med” at the end?

tage med is a phrasal verb in Danish, like “take along / bring (with you)” in English.

Base form: at tage med = to go along / to bring along
In the sentence: hun tager sine egne bøger med
→ she brings her own books (with her)

In main clauses, Danish usually splits the verb and the particle:

subject – verb – objects – particle
hun (subject) tager (verb) sine egne bøger (object) med (particle)

So med naturally comes at the end of the clause.

Why is it “sine” and not “sin” or “hendes” before “egne bøger”?

Three points:

Reflexive vs non‑reflexive:
- sin/sit/sine = his/her/their own (refers back to the subject of the same clause)
- hendes = her (not necessarily the subject’s own; just “her” in general)
In men hun tager sine egne bøger med, the subject is hun, and the books belong to her (the same person), so Danish uses the reflexive form sine.
- sine bøger = her own books (the subject’s books)
- hendes bøger = her books (could be some other woman’s books, depending on context)
Agreement with the noun:
- sin – with common gender singular nouns (en‑words): sin bog (his/her own book)
- sit – with neuter singular nouns (et‑words): sit hus (his/her own house)
- sine – with plural nouns: sine bøger (his/her own books)
Since bøger (books) is plural, we must use sine.
Why not “sin” here?
Because sin only goes with singular en‑words, and bøger is plural, so sine is the only correct reflexive form.

What extra meaning does “egne” add? Could we just say “sine bøger”?

Yes, you could say:

hun tager sine bøger med
→ she brings her books (with her)

Adding egne (from egen, “own”) emphasizes that the books are her own, not borrowed or provided by someone else:

hun tager sine egne bøger med
→ she brings her own books (with her)

So egne is not grammatically required, but it adds emphasis and contrast, much like “own” in English.

Why is the word order “hun tager sine egne bøger med” and not “hun tager med sine egne bøger”?

Standard neutral word order in a main clause is:

Subject – Verb – (Objects / Adverbs) – Verb particle

So:

hun (subject)
tager (verb)
sine egne bøger (object)
med (verb particle)

→ hun tager sine egne bøger med

You can say hun tager med sine egne bøger, but that word order is unusual and would sound marked or focus‑heavy, typically used only in special contexts (to stress with her own books in contrast to something else). The normal, neutral choice is with med at the end.

How do “sin/sit/sine” and “deres” differ in general?

In short:

sin/sit/sine
- Reflexive: refers back to the subject of its own clause (3rd person).
- Means “his/her/its/their own”.
- Changes form according to the possessed noun:
  - sin bog (en‑word, singular)
  - sit hus (et‑word, singular)
  - sine bøger (plural)
deres
- Non‑reflexive: doesn’t necessarily refer back to the subject.
- Means “their” (and also “your” formal/plural).
- Does not change form; it’s the same for all genders and numbers.

In your sentence:

deres veninde – “their (female) friend” (subject = de)
sine egne bøger – “her own books” (subject = hun)

What are the genders and forms of “veninde”, “bog”, and “bøger”?

veninde
- Gender: common (en‑word)
- Singular: en veninde (a female friend)
- Plural: veninder
bog
- Gender: common (en‑word)
- Singular: en bog (a book)
- Plural: bøger (books) – irregular plural
Because bøger is plural, you see:
- sine (plural form of sin/sit/sine)
- egne (plural form of egen)

Who does “hun” refer to in this sentence?

In:

De inviterer deres veninde, men hun tager sine egne bøger med.

the pronoun hun most naturally refers back to deres veninde:

They invite their (female) friend, but she (the friend) brings her own books.

So the structure is:

De = “they” (subject of the first clause)
deres veninde = “their female friend” (object of the first clause)
hun = “she” (that friend, now the subject of the second clause)