Possessives on their own (Den är min)

Possessives Without a Noun

English uses different words for my and mine. Swedish does not: the possessive you already know simply stands on its own.

Det är *min bil. — It is *my car. Bilen är *min. — The car is *mine.

The car is mine.
Bilen är min.

Agreement Still Applies

Even standing alone, the possessive agrees with the thing owned — -t with ett-words, -a in the plural:

The house is mine.
Huset är mitt.
The cars are ours.
Bilarna är våra.

The invariable forms hans, hennes and deras stay the same, as always:

The big house is theirs.
Det stora huset är deras.

Asking and Answering About Ownership

This is how Swedish naturally asks and answers whose something is:

Is that your book? No, it is his.
Är det din bok? Nej, den är hans.

Contributors