Breakdown of Du måste instruera kollegan att skicka sina sammanställningar.
du
you (singular)
att
to
måste
to have to, must
kollegan
the colleague
sina
his/her/its/their own (plural)
skicka
to send
instruera
to instruct
sammanställningen
the compilation
Questions & Answers about Du måste instruera kollegan att skicka sina sammanställningar.
Why does this sentence use sina instead of hans, hennes, or deras for 'their'?
Even though kollegan (the colleague) is the object of the main sentence, it is the 'logical subject' of the infinitive phrase att skicka... (to send...). Because the colleague is the one doing the sending, the reflexive sina is used to show they are sending their own compilations. If you used hans, hennes, or deras, it would mean they are sending someone else's compilations.
Does sina take its plural form because of the colleague or the compilations?
It takes the plural form because of sammanställningar (compilations). Reflexive pronouns always match the gender and number of the noun being owned, not the owner. Since the compilations are plural, you must use sina rather than the singular sin or sitt.
What exactly is an sammanställning in a typical Swedish workplace?
While it literally translates to 'compilation', in a professional setting en sammanställning usually refers to a summary, a consolidated report, or a spreadsheet where various pieces of data have been gathered and organized.
If I rewrote this to use a full subordinate clause instead of the infinitive att skicka, would sina still be used?
Yes! If you expand it to a full clause like Du måste instruera kollegan att hen ska skicka sina sammanställningar, the colleague (hen) becomes the actual grammatical subject of that new clause. Since the subject is acting on its own object, sina remains the correct choice.
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