Questions & Answers about Han säljer deras bilar.
Why do we use deras instead of sina here?
Sina means "his own" (for plural nouns), while deras means "their". If the sentence used sina, it would mean "He sells his own cars." Because it uses deras, we know he is selling cars that belong to a group of other people.
Why is the noun bilar (cars) in the indefinite form instead of bilarna (the cars)?
Whenever you use a possessive word in Swedish, like deras (their) or hans (his), the noun that follows must be in its indefinite form. So you say deras bilar, not deras bilarna.
Do we need to change deras because bilar is plural?
No, deras is a special possessive pronoun that never changes form. Unlike sin, sitt, and sina, which change depending on the gender and number of the noun, deras is always spelled exactly the same whether it describes an en word, an ett word, or a plural word like bilar.
How do you pronounce the "lj" in säljer?
The "lj" combination in Swedish makes a "y" sound, meaning the "l" is completely silent. So säljer sounds a bit like "sell-yer" in English.
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