Han skriver til sine venner, mens han sidder i sofaen.

to sit

Breakdown of Han skriver til sine venner, mens han sidder i sofaen.

• til: to
• skrive: to write
• vennen: the friend

Questions & Answers about Han skriver til sine venner, mens han sidder i sofaen.

Why is it sine venner and not hans venner?

Danish distinguishes between own and someone else’s when talking about “his/her”:

• sin/sit/sine = his/her/its own (refers back to the subject of the same clause)
• hans = his (someone else’s), not the subject’s own

In Han skriver til sine venner, sine refers back to han, so the meaning is “He is writing to his own friends.”

If you said Han skriver til hans venner, it would usually be understood as “He is writing to his (another man’s) friends.”

What does sine agree with here – with han or with venner?

sine agrees in number and gender with the noun it belongs to, not with the person who owns it.

• Owner: han (he) – singular
• Thing owned: venner (friends) – plural

So you must use the plural form sine:

• sin – common gender, singular: sin ven (his/her own friend)
• sit – neuter, singular: sit hus (his/her own house)
• sine – plural: sine venner (his/her own friends), sine huse (his/her own houses)

That’s why it’s sine venner.