Questions & Answers about Peysan hennar er græn og mjög hlý.
Why does peysan end in -an, and what is the basic form of this noun?
The basic dictionary form of the word is peysa, which means a sweater.
Icelandic usually does not use a separate word for the. Instead, it adds a definite ending to the noun itself. For feminine nouns ending in -a, the nominative singular definite ending is -n, which merges with the a and becomes -an:
- peysa = a sweater
- peysan = the sweater
So peysan is simply peysa + -n (definite article) → the sweater.
What exactly does hennar mean, and how is it different from hún?
Hennar means her / of her, expressing possession:
- peysan hennar = her sweater (literally: the sweater of her)
Grammatically:
- hún = she (nominative, subject form)
- hennar = her (genitive, possessive form, “of her”)
You use hennar after a noun to show that something belongs to a female person. For example:
- tölvan hennar = her computer
- bíllinn hennar = her car
So in Peysan hennar er græn og mjög hlý, hennar shows that the sweater belongs to a woman or girl.