Man - ens eller sin ?

Man has no real equivalent in English. It carries the meaning of one, the general person, but would usually translate into you (singular). Man is a third person pronoun - like han or hun - which means two possesive pronouns: ens or sin/sit/sine (reflexive). Sin is a 3rd person singular, reflective, possesive pronoun - you are using it when the subject of the sentencence is handeling his or her own stuff:

  • Man skal lave sit hjemmearbejde. (One ought to do one's (own) homework )

  • Man skal børste sine tænder hver morgen og aften. (You should brush your (own) teeth morning and evening.)

    In all other cases you are using ens:

    Hvad gør man, når ens kone ikke vil se finalen? (What do you do when your wife won't watch the cup final?)

    Sin may refere to a logical subject which is not mentioned: Det er forbudt at tage sit eget liv. (It' s illegal to commit suicide).

    Choose between ens eller sin/sit/sine in the drop down list.
    - Hvad kalder man den mand, der er gift med søster?
    - søsters mand er svoger. Men jeg siger nu bare Jens.
    - Hvad kalder man så brors kone?
    - Hun er svigerinde.