Breakdown of Han er tilfreds med sin beslutning, og han forklarer det roligt, når nogen spørger ham om den.
og
and
være
to be
når
when
med
with
Questions & Answers about Han er tilfreds med sin beslutning, og han forklarer det roligt, når nogen spørger ham om den.
Why is it sin beslutning and not hans beslutning?
Danish distinguishes between sin/sit/sine and hans/hendes/deres.
- sin/sit/sine = his/her/their own (reflexive; refers back to the subject of the clause)
- hans/hendes/deres = his/her/their (someone else’s) (non‑reflexive)
In the sentence:
- Han er tilfreds med sin beslutning
→ He is satisfied with *his own decision.*
The subject of the clause is han, and the decision belongs to that same han, so Danish uses the reflexive sin.
If you said:
Han er tilfreds med hans beslutning,
it would normally be understood as:He is satisfied with *another man’s decision.*
So sin is mandatory here to show that the decision is his own.
What’s the difference between tilfreds, glad, and lykkelig?