Neues Konzept

His or her? Two choices

For his, her and their, German makes two choices:

  1. The owner picks the word: a man → sein; a woman → ihr; several people → ihr (their).
  2. The thing owned picks the ending, exactly as with mein: plain for der / das, -e for die and plurals.
Owner der / das die / plural
er — his sein seine
sie — her ihr ihre
sie (plural) — their ihr ihre
  • Marcos und sein Hund — Marcos and his dog
  • Frau Müller und ihr Garten — Frau Müller and her garden
  • Herr Müller und seine Zeitung — Herr Müller and his newspaper
  • Die Müllers und ihre Söhne — the Müllers and their sons

Sein also covers its for der and das words: das Haus und sein Garten — the house and its garden.