Bíllinn hans er nýr.

His car is new.

Breakdown of Bíllinn hans er nýr.

• vera: to be
• bíllinn: the car
• nýr: new
• hans: his

Questions & Answers about Bíllinn hans er nýr.

Why does bíllinn have the ending -inn?

• -inn is the suffixed definite article, meaning the noun is definite: bíll (car) → bíllinn (the car).
• Here the car is the subject, so it’s in the nominative singular definite form.
• Note the stem alternations in other cases with the article:
  • Accusative: bílinn (I see the car: Ég sé bílinn.)
  • Dative: bílnum (in the car: í bílnum)
  • Genitive: bílsins (because of the car: vegna bílsins)

Why is the possessive hans after the noun, not before it?

• Possessives like hans (his), hennar (her), þeirra (their), okkar (our), ykkar (your pl.) usually follow the noun: bíllinn hans.
• Preposing hans (e.g., hans bíll) is archaic/poetic. In normal modern use, put it after the noun.
• Possessives that behave like adjectives (minn/þinn/sinn) also most commonly follow the noun in everyday Icelandic: bíllinn minn, bíllinn þinn.

Why is it hans and not sinn?

• sinn/sína/sitt is the reflexive possessive and refers back to the grammatical subject of the same clause.
• In Bíllinn hans er nýr, the subject is the car (bíllinn), so using sinn would incorrectly mean “the car’s own car.”
• Use sinn only when the subject is the possessor: Hann elskar bílinn sinn (He loves his own car).
• In subordinate clauses, sinn refers to the subject of that clause, not the higher clause: Hann segir að bíllinn hans sé nýr (He says that his car is new). Using sinn there would be wrong.

Why is the adjective nýr (not nýi or nýjan)?

• After the verb er (is), adjectives are predicative and take nominative agreement with the subject. Bíllinn is masculine nominative singular, so you use the strong form nýr.
• Attributive adjectives before a definite noun take the weak form: nýi bíllinn (the new car).
• Other forms you might see:
  • nýr bíll (a new car; strong, attributive, indefinite)
  • nýjan bíl (a new car; masculine accusative, e.g., Hann á nýjan bíl — He has a new car)

Could I say “the new car is his” instead? How?

• Yes: Nýi bíllinn er hans.
  • nýi is weak because the adjective is attributive to a definite noun (bíllinn).
  • Compare: Bíllinn hans er nýr (His car is new) vs Nýi bíllinn er hans (The new car is his).

How would the sentence change if the owner were female or plural?

• Female owner: Bíllinn hennar er nýr.
• Plural owners: Bíllinn þeirra er nýr.
• First/second person:
  • Bíllinn minn/þinn/okkar/ykkar er nýr.
• Note: The form of the possessive doesn’t affect the adjective; nýr agrees with the noun bíllinn (masculine), not with the owner.

How do I turn it into a yes/no question?

• Invert by putting the verb first: Er bíllinn hans nýr?
• Possible answers:
  • Já, bíllinn hans er nýr.
  • Nei, bíllinn hans er ekki nýr.

What’s the difference between Bíllinn hans and Bíll hans?

• Bíllinn hans = the specific, known car of his (definite).
• Bíll hans = a car of his (indefinite), often implying he has at least one car and you’re referring to one of them, not necessarily a specific one previously known in the context.

Which cases are used in the sentence?

• Bíllinn: nominative singular definite (subject).
• hans: genitive singular of the pronoun hann (he), used as a possessive.
• er: 3rd person singular present of vera (to be).
• nýr: nominative masculine singular adjective agreeing with bíllinn (predicate adjective).

How would forms change in other contexts with cases?

• Accusative (direct object): Ég sé bílinn hans. (I see his car.)
• Dative (after many preps): Ég sit í bílnum hans. (I sit in his car.)
• Genitive (after certain preps): Vegna bílsins hans komum við seint. (Because of his car, we arrived late.)

Does the adjective change with different noun genders?

Yes, it agrees with the noun:

• Masculine: Bíllinn hans er nýr.
• Feminine: Bókin hennar er ný. (Her book is new.)
• Neuter: Húsið þeirra er nýtt. (Their house is new.)

Any quick pronunciation tips for these words?

• bíllinn: í/ý sound like a long “ee”; the ll is typically pronounced like a voiceless “tl” sound; so you’ll hear something close to “BEEL-tlin.”
• hans: clear initial h; short “a” like “ah”; final s is voiceless.
• er: short “ehr.”
• nýr: long “ee” vowel; final trilled or tapped r.