Húsið þar sem amma mín býr er rólegt og gamalt.

The house where my grandmother lives is quiet and old.

Breakdown of Húsið þar sem amma mín býr er rólegt og gamalt.

• vera: to be
• húsið: the house
• gamall: old
• og: and

Questions & Answers about Húsið þar sem amma mín býr er rólegt og gamalt.

What does the ending -ið in húsið mean?

The base word is hús = house.
Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the noun as a suffix:

• hús = a house (no article)
• húsið = the house (neuter definite ending -ið)

So húsið means the house in the nominative/accusative singular, neuter. There is no separate word for the in this sentence; it’s built into húsið.

How does þar sem work? Is it the same as English where or that?

Þar sem is a fixed combination:

• þar = there (an adverb of place)
• sem = a general relative word (that/which/who)

Together, þar sem usually means where in the sense of “in the place where …”.

In Húsið þar sem amma mín býr…, the part þar sem amma mín býr is a relative clause describing the house:

• húsið þar sem amma mín býr ≈ the house where my grandmother lives

So here þar sem functions like English where, not like a demonstrative that.

Why is the word order and not ?