Hún útskýrir valið sitt.

A simple breakdown is:

• Hún = she
• útskýrir = explains
  
  • present tense
  • 3rd person singular
• valið = the choice
• sitt = her own

So the structure is:

• subject: Hún
• verb: útskýrir
• object: valið sitt

In other words, it is a straightforward subject–verb–object sentence.

Útskýrir is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of útskýra (to explain).

That means it is used with:

• hann = he
• hún = she
• það = it

Examples:

• Hún útskýrir = She explains
• Hann útskýrir = He explains

So in this sentence, útskýrir matches hún.

Here, valið is a noun phrase, not a participle.

It comes from the noun val (choice, selection), and -ið is the suffixed definite article, so:

• val = choice
• valið = the choice

A learner might confuse it with the past participle of velja (to choose), because that form can also look like valið in some contexts. But in this sentence, it clearly means the choice, especially because it is followed by sitt, which shows possession.

So here the sentence is about her choice, not about something chosen.

Because Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

So:

• val = a choice / choice
• valið = the choice

This is very common in Icelandic. Instead of using a separate word like English the, Icelandic often attaches it directly to the noun.

So valið sitt is literally something like the choice her-own, which English expresses as her choice or her own choice.

In this sentence, valið is the direct object of útskýrir, so it is in the accusative case.

The verb útskýra takes an accusative object:

• útskýra eitthvað = to explain something

So:

• Hún = nominative subject
• valið sitt = accusative object

A useful extra detail: for many neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative singular look the same. So even though valið is accusative here, it looks the same as the nominative definite form.

Because sitt is the reflexive possessive, used when the possessor is the subject of the same clause.

Here, the subject is hún (she), and the thing being possessed is her own choice. So Icelandic uses sinn/sín/sitt rather than hennar.

So:

• Hún útskýrir valið sitt = She explains her own choice
• Hún útskýrir valið hennar would normally mean She explains her choice, where her refers to some other female person, not the subject herself.

This is an important distinction in Icelandic and one that English usually does not make clearly.

It agrees with valið, not with hún.

That is one of the most important things to remember about sinn/sín/sitt:

• it refers back to the subject
• but its form agrees with the noun it belongs to

Here:

• the possessor is the subject hún
• the possessed thing is valið
• val is neuter singular
• so the correct form is sitt

That is why Icelandic uses sitt here, even though the subject is female.

Compare:

• Hún útskýrir bíl sinn = She explains her car
  (bíl is masculine)
• Hún útskýrir bók sína = She explains her book
  (bók is feminine)
• Hún útskýrir valið sitt = She explains her choice
  (val is neuter)

This is the normal, neutral word order: subject – verb – object.

So Hún útskýrir valið sitt is the most natural basic way to say it.

Icelandic can change word order for emphasis or style, but that usually makes the sentence feel more marked. For example, moving valið sitt to the front would put special emphasis on it.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

• subject
• finite verb
• object

So this sentence is a very standard example of normal Icelandic main-clause word order.