Í dagbókinni skrifar hún um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar.

In the diary she writes about the weather and her feelings.

Breakdown of Í dagbókinni skrifar hún um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar.

• skrifa: to write
• hún: she
• veðrið: the weather
• í: in
• og: and
• um: about
• sinn: her
• dagbókin: the diary
• tilfinning: the feeling

Questions & Answers about Í dagbókinni skrifar hún um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar.

What does each Icelandic word correspond to in English, and what are their basic dictionary forms?

The sentence is:

Í dagbókinni skrifar hún um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar.
In the diary, she writes about the weather and her feelings.

Word by word:

• Í – in

  • Basic form: í (preposition)

• dagbókinni – the diary (in the diary)

  • Basic noun: dagbók – diary (feminine)
  • Case/number/definiteness here: dative singular, definite (more on that below)

• skrifar – writes / is writing

  • Basic verb: að skrifa – to write
  • Here: 3rd person singular present

• hún – she

  • Basic pronoun: hún – she

• um – about

  • Basic form: um (preposition that takes the accusative)

• veðrið – the weather

  • Basic noun: veður – weather (neuter)
  • Here: accusative singular, definite

• og – and

  • Basic form: og – and

• tilfinningar – feelings

  • Basic noun: tilfinning – feeling (feminine)
  • Here: accusative plural, indefinite

• sínar – her (own)

  • Basic form: sinn / sín / sitt – reflexive possessive pronoun one’s own
  • Here: feminine accusative plural, agreeing with tilfinningar

Why is dagbókinni in this form, and what case is it?

Dagbókinni is in the dative singular, definite.

• The basic noun is dagbók – diary (feminine).
• The preposition í can take either accusative or dative:
  • í
    • accusative = into (movement)
  • í
    • dative = in, inside (location)

Here the meaning is in the diary (a location, not movement), so í requires the dative.

Feminine nouns like dagbók form the dative singular definite with the ending -inni, so:

• dagbók (nom. sg. indef.)
• dagbókin (nom. sg. def. – the diary)
• dagbók inni (dat. sg. def. – in the diary)

So í dagbókinni literally means in the diary (dative, definite).

What is the difference between í dagbókinni and í dagbókina?

The difference is case and therefore the meaning of í:

• Í dagbókinni – dative
  
  • Means in the diary (location, something is already there).
• Í dagbókina – accusative
  
  • Means into the diary (movement or direction towards the diary).

Compare:

• Hún skrifar í dagbókinni.
  She writes in the diary. (location: the writing is happening in the diary.)

• Hún setur mynd í dagbókina.
  She puts a picture into the diary. (movement: the picture is going into the diary.)

In your sentence, we’re talking about where she writes (inside the diary), so í dagbókinni is correct.

Why does the sentence start with Í dagbókinni and then have skrifar hún? Could you also say Hún skrifar í dagbókinni?

Icelandic main clauses are generally verb-second (V2): the finite verb tends to be in the second position, after whichever element is placed first.

In your sentence:

1. Í dagbókinni – prepositional phrase (1st position)
2. skrifar – verb (2nd position)
3. hún – subject

Starting with Í dagbókinni puts extra emphasis on where the writing takes place, similar to English:

• In the diary, she writes about the weather and her feelings. (location emphasized)

You can absolutely also say:

• Hún skrifar í dagbókinni um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar.

This is more neutral and closer to straightforward English word order:

• subject (Hún)
• verb (skrifar)
• other elements.

Both are grammatically correct; the original word order simply highlights the location.

Where did “her” go in Í dagbókinni? Why isn’t it í dagbókinni hennar for in her diary?

Icelandic often omits possessive pronouns when the owner is obvious from context, especially with things like:

• close personal possessions,
• body parts,
• family members.

Í dagbókinni literally means in the diary, but in a natural context it will easily be understood as in her diary if we are already talking about her and her diary.

You could say:

• Í dagbókinni hennar – in her diary (non-reflexive possessive)
• Í dagbókinni sinni – in her own diary (reflexive, stressing that it’s her own diary)

…but in many cases that feels a bit heavier or more explicit than necessary. The short Í dagbókinni is perfectly normal and idiomatic when the owner is clear.

How is skrifar conjugated, and what does it say about tense and person?

The verb is að skrifa – to write.

Skrifar is:

• present tense
• 3rd person singular
• indicative mood

Basic pattern for the present tense of skrifa:

• ég skrifa – I write
• þú skrifar – you (sg.) write
• hann / hún / það skrifar – he / she / it writes
• við skrifum – we write
• þið skrifið – you (pl.) write
• þeir / þær / þau skrifa – they write

In Icelandic, the simple present skrifar covers both English:

• she writes
• she is writing

Context decides which English translation fits best.

Could you also say Hún er að skrifa um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar? What’s the difference from Hún skrifar...?

Yes, you can say:

• Hún er að skrifa um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar.
  She is writing about the weather and her feelings.

Er að + infinitive (here: er að skrifa) is often used to stress the ongoing nature of the action, similarly to English is writing.

Rough difference:

• Hún skrifar um veðrið…
  Can mean a habitual or general action: She writes / tends to write / usually writes about the weather…
  In context it can also refer to something happening now.

• Hún er að skrifa um veðrið…
  More clearly “right now” or “currently” – She is (in the process of) writing…

Both are correct; skrifar is more general, er að skrifa is more explicitly progressive.

Why is veðrið in this form, and what case is it?

Veðrið is in the accusative singular, definite, but for neuter nouns the nominative and accusative forms look the same.

Basic noun:

• veður – weather (neuter)

Definite forms:

• Nom./acc. singular definite: veðrið – the weather

The preposition um (about) takes the accusative, so:

• um + veður (indefinite) → about weather
• um + veðrið (definite) → about the weather

Your sentence uses veðrið, so it’s about the weather.

What does um mean here, and which case does it require?

In this sentence, um means about:

• skrifar hún um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar
  she writes about the weather and her feelings

Um is a preposition that requires the accusative case.

That’s why both veðrið and tilfinningar sínar are in the accusative:

• um veðrið – about the weather (acc. sg.)
• um tilfinningar sínar – about her feelings (acc. pl.)

What exactly is happening in tilfinningar sínar? Why plural, and what are the cases?

Breakdown:

• tilfinning – feeling (feminine noun)
• tilfinningar – accusative plural (same form as nominative plural)
• sínar – reflexive possessive pronoun her (own), feminine accusative plural

Reasons:

1. Plural
   She’s writing about feelings in general, not a single feeling, so tilfinningar (plural) is used.

2. Case
   The preposition um takes the accusative, so tilfinningar must be in the accusative plural.

3. Possessive agreement
   The reflexive possessive sinn / sín / sitt must agree with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case.

   • tilfinningar: feminine, plural, accusative
   • So the matching form of sinn is sínar (fem. acc. pl.)

Thus tilfinningar sínar literally means feelings her-own → her (own) feelings.

What is the difference between sínar and hennar here? Could you say tilfinningar hennar instead of tilfinningar sínar?

Yes, you can say tilfinningar hennar, but it changes the meaning.

• sínar is reflexive: it refers back to the subject of the same clause.
  In this sentence, the subject is hún (she).
  So tilfinningar sínar = her own feelings (the feelings of that same “she”).

• hennar is non-reflexive: it usually refers to some other female person, not the subject of the clause.

So:

• Í dagbókinni skrifar hún um tilfinningar sínar.
  In the diary, she writes about her own feelings.

• Í dagbókinni skrifar hún um tilfinningar hennar.
  Normally understood as: In the diary, she writes about her (some other woman’s) feelings.

For a native reader, sínar here strongly signals that the feelings belong to the subject hún herself.

Why does sínar have that exact ending, and how does it agree with tilfinningar?

The reflexive pronoun’s base form is:

• sinn (masc.), sín (fem.), sitt (neut.)

It declines like an adjective and must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here, the noun is tilfinningar:

• gender: feminine
• number: plural
• case: accusative (because of um)

The feminine plural accusative (same as nominative) form of sinn is:

• sínar

So:

• tilfinningar (fem. acc. pl.)
• sínar (fem. acc. pl.)

They match exactly, which is why sínar is the correct form.

Can the word order at the end change? For example, can you say tilfinningar sínar vs sínar tilfinningar, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, the word order can change slightly, but it affects emphasis more than core meaning.

• tilfinningar sínar – the most usual, neutral order with the reflexive; possessive follows the noun.
  her own feelings (normal emphasis)

• sínar tilfinningar – also possible, but tends to put extra emphasis on sínar, highlighting her own in contrast to someone else’s.

In standard, neutral writing, you will most often see tilfinningar sínar in sentences like this.

How do you pronounce some of the trickier words: dagbókinni, veðrið, and tilfinningar?

Approximate pronunciations (not strict IPA, but close enough to guide you):

• dagbókinni
  Roughly: DAHG-bow-kin-ni

  • g before b is often somewhat weakened; you may hear something like dah(b)-bó-kin-ni.
  • Stress is on the first syllable: DAG-bó-kin-ni.

• veðrið
  Roughly: VEH-thrith

  • ð is a soft th as in this.
  • The ðr cluster is a bit like thr with a rolled/flapped r.
  • Final -ið is like a short ith or ith with a very light vowel.

• tilfinningar
  Roughly: TIL-fin-ning-ar

  • Stress on the first syllable: TIL-fin-ning-ar.
  • The nn is pronounced as a geminate (a longer n).
  • Final -ar is like a short ar (almost ahr).

Native pronunciation will of course be smoother, but these approximations will get you close.

Can I move í dagbókinni to the end and still be correct, like Hún skrifar um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar í dagbókinni?

Yes, that word order is fully grammatical:

• Hún skrifar um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar í dagbókinni.

Meaning is still:

• She writes about the weather and her feelings in the diary.

Subtle differences:

• Í dagbókinni skrifar hún…
  Emphasizes in the diary (location first, verb in second position).

• Hún skrifar um veðrið og tilfinningar sínar í dagbókinni.
  More neutral, similar to everyday English word order. The focus is more on what she writes, with the location added at the end.

Both versions are natural; context and desired emphasis decide which you choose.