Ch 6 · Lesson 8Esperanto · Chapter 6 · Lesson 8 · Common mistake
sian or ŝian?
Her own car or another woman's? English cannot tell you. Esperanto has to.
The rule
means 'his own, her own, their own': it points back to the subject of its own clause, and only to that. is a different woman's. English ' covers both, so the bracket says whose it is; then only one word fits. never goes in the subject itself, and it does not care whether the subject is singular or plural.
Pick the right one
0/7Pick the right one: sian or ŝian.
Berta prenis aŭton. (her own car)
Berta ne vidis Ninan, sed ŝi vidis hundon. (Nina's dog)
Nina amas patrinon. (her own mother)
Nina diris, ke Berta trovis libron. (Nina's book)
Nina diris, ke Berta trovis libron. (Berta's own book)
Berta kaj Nina vizitis amikon. (their own friend)
Mi ne trovis Ninan, do mi vizitis patrinon. (Nina's mother)
You met this in chapter 5. Worth a second look if the drill caught you out.
Back to the full lessonLesson 8 of 30 in this chapter