Breakdown of Mamman kramar sina barn.
barnet
the child
mamman
the mother
sina
his/her/its/their own (plural)
krama
to hug
Questions & Answers about Mamman kramar sina barn.
Why does this sentence use sina instead of hennes for "her"?
Sina is a reflexive possessive pronoun, which just means it reflects back to the subject of the sentence. Because "the mother" is the subject and she is hugging her own children, we must use sina. If the sentence said Mamman kramar hennes barn, it would mean she is hugging another woman's children!
Why is the word sina used here rather than sin or sitt?
The choice between sin, sitt, and sina depends entirely on the thing being owned, not the owner. Here, the mother is hugging her children (plural). Sina is the plural form. If she were only hugging one child, which is an ett-word (ett barn), the sentence would be Mamman kramar sitt barn.
How can we tell that barn means "children" (plural) and not just one child?
The biggest clue is the word sina, which is only used with plural nouns! Also, remember that barn is an ett-word ending in a consonant (ett barn). In Swedish, these types of words don't change their spelling when they become plural. So, one child is ett barn, and multiple children are just barn.
Why does the sentence start with Mamman instead of just Mamma?