Swedish: An Essential Grammar, 2nd edition

De tycker att deras lärare är tråkig.
S
/SC S
5.6
5
Pronouns
84

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4 A confusing case occurs when the possessive precedes the subject:
Despite his appearance he was very young.
Trots sitt utseende var han mycket ung.
←⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
S
5 In clauses with ellipsis (object + infinitive), when there is no finite verb
in the clause, sin/sitt/sina may refer to the implied subject of the clause:
I heard her call her husband. Jag hörde henne ropa på sin man.
S
IS
O
S
IS 
←⎯⎯⎯⎯
I saw him kick his dog.
Jag såg honom sparka sin hund.
S
IS
O
S
IS 
←⎯⎯⎯⎯
To test this, expand the ellipted clause into a full clause and apply the
basic rules (see 1, 2 above):
Jag såg att han sparkade sin hund.
S
/SC S 
←⎯⎯⎯⎯
O
6 Note the idiomatic use of sin/sitt/sina in such phrases as:
Det är inte lätt att älska sin nästa.
Loving your neighbour is not easy.
Att offra sin hälsa på cigaretter är dumt.
It’s stupid to sacrifice your health for cigarettes.
7 Note the idiomatic use of sin/sitt/sina in abbreviated comparisons: