Hun er stolt av sin egen idé, og han er stolt av sin egen søster.

She is proud of her own idea, and he is proud of his own sister.

Breakdown of Hun er stolt av sin egen idé, og han er stolt av sin egen søster.

• være: to be
• han: he
• hun: she
• og: and
• av: of
• ideen: the idea
• sin: his
• søsteren: the sister
• sin: her
• stolt: proud
• egen: own

Questions & Answers about Hun er stolt av sin egen idé, og han er stolt av sin egen søster.

What does bold sin refer to in each clause?

Bold sin is the reflexive possessive; it always refers back to the subject of its own clause.

• In bold Hun er stolt av sin egen idé, bold sin = bold hun (her own).
• In bold han er stolt av sin egen søster, bold sin = bold han (his own).

Why do we use bold sin and not bold hennes or bold hans?

Bold hans/hennes are non‑reflexive and normally point to someone else, not the subject. Using them here would change the meaning:

• Bold Hun er stolt av hennes egen idé = She is proud of another woman’s own idea.
• Bold Han er stolt av hans søster = He is proud of another man’s sister.

How do I say He is proud of another man’s sister clearly?

Use bold hans (non‑reflexive) or a noun phrase that names the owner:

• Bold Han er stolt av søsteren hans. (By default, bold hans ≠ the subject.)
• Even clearer: bold Han er stolt av søsteren til Per. / bold Han er stolt av en annen manns søster.

Why is it bold stolt av and not bold stolt over?

Both exist:

• Bold stolt av is the default: bold Jeg er stolt av deg. / bold Hun er stolt av arbeidet sitt.
• Bold stolt over is also idiomatic, often with achievements or clauses: bold Hun er stolt over at hun klarte det. With people, bold stolt av is more common, but bold over isn’t wrong.

Why bold sin and not bold sitt or bold sine?

Because the possessed nouns are singular, common gender.

• bold sin + singular common gender (bold en/ei): bold idé, bold søster → bold sin
• bold sitt + singular neuter (bold et): bold hus → bold sitt eget hus
• bold sine + any plural: bold ideer, bold søstre → bold sine egne ideer/søstre

Does bold egen agree with the noun?

Yes. It’s an adjective and agrees in gender/number:

• Singular common: bold egen (bold sin egen idé)
• Singular neuter: bold eget (bold sitt eget hus)
• Plural (or with definite nouns): bold egne (bold sine egne ideer/søstre)

Do I need bold egen at all?

No. Bold sin alone already means “one’s own.” Bold egen adds emphasis or contrast (her own, not someone else’s).

• Neutral: bold Hun er stolt av ideen sin.
• Emphatic: bold Hun er stolt av sin egen idé.

Can I put the possessive after the noun?

Yes—without bold egen:

• Postposed (very common): bold Hun er stolt av idéen sin. / bold Han er stolt av søsteren sin. Bold egen cannot be postposed, so bold idéen sin egen is wrong.

Why are bold idé and bold søster in the indefinite form?

With a preposed possessive (bold sin/sitt/sine before the noun), the noun stays indefinite:

• Preposed: bold sin (egen) idé; bold sin søster
• Postposed: noun is definite: bold idéen sin; bold søsteren sin

How does bold stolt inflect?

• Singular: bold stolt (bold Hun er stolt.)
• Plural: bold stolte (bold De er stolte.)
• With adverbs: bold veldig stolt/stolte (bold Jeg er veldig stolt av deg. / bold Vi er veldig stolte.)

Why is there a comma before bold og?

It’s optional here. Norwegian often omits the comma before bold og in coordination, but many writers add it when joining two independent clauses with different subjects, for clarity:

• With comma (as in your sentence): fine.
• Without comma: also fine.

Do I need the accent in bold idé?

Both bold idé and bold ide are accepted in Bokmål. The accented form is common and recommended by many style guides. Typical inflections:

• Singular: bold en idé / bold en ide
• Definite singular: bold idéen / bold ideen
• Plural: bold idéer / bold ideer
• Definite plural: bold idéene / bold ideene

How would I say proud of himself/herself?

Use bold seg selv, not bold sin:

• bold Han er stolt av seg selv. (not bold sin selv)
• bold Hun er stolt av seg selv. Use bold sin/sitt/sine only for things/people that belong to the subject (bold sin søster, bold sitt hus, bold sine venner).

In a longer sentence, does bold sin always refer to the nearest noun?

No. It refers to the subject of its own clause, even in subclauses:

• bold Hun sier at han er stolt av sin søster. Here bold sin refers to bold han (the subject of the subclause), not bold hun.