Sein (pronoun) can mean "one’s"? (Questions About Your Target Languages) Language Learning Forum

Sein (pronoun) can mean "one’s"?
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Diglot
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Message 1 of 7

24 July 2014 at 4:02pm | IP Logged

In the sentence "Um sein Leben zu ändern, ist es nie zu spät", I was surprised to see "sein" there because
I think of "sein" as meaning "his" or "its". That obviously makes no sense if the sentence means "it's never
too late to change your life". I wonder if sein was also the possessive form of the pronoun "man"
and if the sentence would therefore have the literal translation: "it's never too late to change one's life."

Have I understood this correctly?

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Random review on 24 July 2014 at 4:02pm
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Doitsujin
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Message 2 of 7

24 July 2014 at 5:46pm | IP Logged

Random review wrote:

I wonder if sein was also the possessive form of the pronoun "man" and if the sentence would therefore have the literal translation: "it's never too late to change one's life."

Your assumption is correct. For some odd reason third person possessive pronouns are often preferred in proverbs.
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Henkkles
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Message 3 of 7

30 July 2014 at 11:19am | IP Logged

EDIT: (not entirely true->) It's not that "sein" means any of those, it's that "sein" is the third person possessive; it can be translated as "one's", "his", "her", "its" and so on because those all are third person pronouns. That's largely how it works in many Indo-European languages, albeit English lost it during the Old English period.

If it were still in use in English, the following differences could be made:

He washes sine back. (his own back)
He washes his back. (someone else's back than the washer's)

Edited by Henkkles on 31 July 2014 at 8:25am
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vermillon
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Message 4 of 7

30 July 2014 at 2:18pm | IP Logged

Henkkles wrote:

It's not that "sein" means any of those, it's that "sein" is the third person possessive; it can be translated as "one's", "his", "her", "its" and so on

Surely "her" would be ihr, wouldn't it? ;-)
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Henkkles
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Message 5 of 7

30 July 2014 at 5:17pm | IP Logged

vermillon wrote:

Henkkles wrote:

It's not that "sein" means any of those, it's that "sein" is the third person possessive; it can be translated as "one's", "his", "her", "its" and so on

Surely "her" would be ihr, wouldn't it? ;-)

EDIT: Yes.

Edited by Henkkles on 31 July 2014 at 8:22am
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Josquin
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Message 6 of 7

30 July 2014 at 6:14pm | IP Logged

Henkkles wrote:

vermillon wrote:

Henkkles wrote:

It's not that "sein" means any of those, it's that "sein"
is the third person possessive; it can be translated as "one's", "his", "her", "its" and so on

Surely "her" would be ihr, wouldn't it? ;-)

In reflexive sentences, no, otherwise of course.

Sie wäscht seinen Rücken vs. Sie wäscht ihren Rücken, eh?

"Her" always translates as "ihr" in German. There's no distinction between reflexive and non-reflexive possessive
pronouns in German.

"Sie wäscht seinen Rücken" means "She washes his back".
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Henkkles
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Message 7 of 7

31 July 2014 at 8:24am | IP Logged

Josquin wrote:

Henkkles wrote:

vermillon wrote:

Henkkles wrote:

It's not that "sein" means any of those, it's that "sein"
is the third person possessive; it can be translated as "one's", "his", "her", "its" and so on

Surely "her" would be ihr, wouldn't it? ;-)

In reflexive sentences, no, otherwise of course.

Sie wäscht seinen Rücken vs. Sie wäscht ihren Rücken, eh?

"Her" always translates as "ihr" in German. There's no distinction between reflexive and non-reflexive possessive
pronouns in German.

"Sie wäscht seinen Rücken" means "She washes his back".

Then I've been talking out of my ass, disregard as seen fitting. I mixed it with the North-Germanic way of doing it.

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