Breakdown of Han glömde tyvärr att deklarera sina pengar.
han
he
att
to
pengarna
the money
sin
his/her/its/their own (en-word)
Questions & Answers about Han glömde tyvärr att deklarera sina pengar.
Why is it sina pengar and not hans pengar?
Sina is a reflexive possessive pronoun that refers back to the subject of the same clause, which is Han (he). If the sentence used hans, it would mean he forgot to declare someone else's money. We use sina instead of sin or sitt because pengar is a plural word.
Wait, is pengar plural? In English 'money' is singular.
Yes! In Swedish, pengar is always a plural noun (the singular en peng means a coin, but is rarely used for general money). Because it is plural, you must use the plural possessive form sina instead of the singular sin or sitt.
Why does tyvärr come after the verb glömde?
In a main clause like this one, Swedish uses the V2 rule where the conjugated verb (glömde) must be in the second position. Sentence adverbs like tyvärr (unfortunately) generally come immediately after the verb when the subject is in the first position.
In what context is the verb deklarera usually used with money?
While deklarera often means to file one's income tax return, in the context of physical money (pengar), it typically refers to declaring cash at customs when crossing an international border.