Language Learning Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, polyglots, and anyone interested in the techniques of second-language acquisition. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Consider the following in Swedish:
Mannen har en katt. Hans katt äter sin mat.
My question is, whose food is the cat eating? Is the cat eating the cat's food, or the man's food?
My understanding is that the cat is eating the cat's food, and if I wanted to say the cat is eating the man's food, I would say Hans katt äter hans mat.
Am I correct with either of those phrases? What would be the best way to communicate them in Swedish?
You are correct in both your statement. "Mannen har en katt. Hans katt äter sin mat." does indeed mean that the cat is eating the cat's food. To refrase it so that the cat would eat the mans food using possesive poronouns you can, as you say, use "Katten äter hans mat" or "Hans katt äter hans mat" instead.
