Hans or sin? Whose is it?

Swedish has two sets of words for his, her, their. Use sin (en-word), sitt (ett-word) or sina (plural) when the owner is the subject of the same clause: Erik tvättar sin bil (Erik washes his own car). Use hans, hennes or deras when the owner is someone else: Erik tvättar hans bil (he washes another man's car).

• sin never stands inside the subject: Erik och hans fru bor i Umeå (Erik and his wife live in Umeå).
• It works for plural subjects too: De tvättade sin bil (They washed their own car).
• In an att- or när-clause it points to that clause's own subject: Olle sa att Pia hade tappat sin mobil (Pia's phone, not Olle's).

A name in brackets after the gap tells you whose thing it is.