Questions & Answers about Hun har på seg en rød genser.
Why do we need all three words har på seg instead of just har?
Har på seg is a fixed expression that means is wearing.
- har = has
- på = on
- seg = herself / himself / themselves
So literally it is has on herself, which corresponds to is wearing in English.
If you say only Hun har en rød genser, it normally means She has a red sweater (owns it), not that she is wearing it right now. You need the full expression har på seg to talk about wearing.
What does seg refer to here, and can it change?
Seg is a reflexive pronoun. It refers back to the subject hun.
- Hun har på seg … = She has on herself …
- Because the subject is 3rd person (hun/han/de), the reflexive form is seg.
For other persons, it changes:
- Jeg har på meg en rød genser. (I am wearing…)
- Du har på deg en rød genser. (You are wearing…)
- Vi har på oss en rød genser. (We are wearing…)
- Dere har på dere en rød genser. (You, plural, are wearing…)
- De har på seg en rød genser. (They are wearing…)
You would not say Hun har på henne en rød genser; henne would refer to another woman, not to hun herself.
Could Hun har en rød genser ever mean She is wearing a red sweater?