Questions & Answers about Hann segir sér sögu.
In Hann segir sér sögu, sér is the reflexive dative pronoun and means “to himself” (or more generally “to himself/herself/itself/themselves,” depending on context).
- sér = “to oneself” (3rd person, reflexive, dative)
- honum = “to him” (3rd person, masculine, dative, not reflexive)
So:
- Hann segir sér sögu. = He tells himself a story.
- Hann segir honum sögu. = He tells him a story (some other man, not the subject).
Both sér and sig are reflexive pronouns, but they are in different cases:
- sig = accusative reflexive (object of verbs that take accusative)
- sér = dative reflexive (object of verbs or prepositions that take dative)
The verb segja (to say/tell) uses this pattern:
segja e-m e-ð
“tell someone (dative) something (accusative)”
So you must use dative for the person being told:
- Hann segir sér sögu.
sér = dative reflexive, “to himself”
If the reflexive were a direct object (accusative), you’d use sig, e.g.:
- Hann sér sig. = He sees himself.
(sjá e-n “to see someone” takes the accusative)
sögu is in the accusative singular.
The noun is saga (NOM sg., “story”). Its singular forms are:
- NOM: saga
- ACC: sögu
- DAT: sögu
- GEN: sögu
In Hann segir sér sögu:
- Hann = subject, nominative
- segir = verb
- sér = indirect object, dative
- sögu = direct object, accusative
Because sögu is the thing that is being told (direct object), it must be accusative.
The default word order in Icelandic for sentences with two objects (indirect + direct) is:
Subject – Verb – Indirect Object (dative) – Direct Object (accusative)
So:
- Hann segir sér sögu. (natural, neutral word order)
- sér (indirect, dative)
- sögu (direct, accusative)
Segir sögu sér is not impossible, but it would sound marked or odd in a simple neutral sentence like this. Reordering tends to be used only for emphasis, rhythm, or special contexts; for a beginner, you should treat dative-before-accusative as the normal pattern.
The base (dictionary) form is segja = to say, to tell.
Present tense:
- ég segi – I say/tell
- þú segir – you say/tell (sg.)
- hann/hún/það segir – he/she/it says/tells
- við segjum – we say/tell
- þið segið – you say/tell (pl.)
- þeir/þær/þau segja – they say/tell
So in Hann segir sér sögu, segir is 3rd person singular present, matching hann (“he”).
Past tense (for reference):
- ég sagði, þú sagðir, hann sagði, við sögðum, þið sögðuð, þeir sögðu
Past participle: sagt.
In Icelandic, segja can cover both English meanings:
- segja eitthvað = “say something”
- segja e-m e-ð = “tell someone something”
In Hann segir sér sögu there are two objects:
- sér (to whom?) → the person
- sögu (what?) → the content
When segja has this pattern “person + thing”, the natural English equivalent is “to tell”:
- Hann segir sér sögu.
→ He tells himself a story.
If you only had a thing and no person, you’d usually translate with say or tell, depending on context:
- Hann segir sögu.
Literally: “He says/tells a story.”
(More idiomatic in English: “He tells a story.”)
No. sér is always reflexive in the 3rd person; it refers back to the subject of the clause.
So in this sentence:
- Subject: Hann = he
- Reflexive dative: sér = to himself
If you want “her” or “them”, you must use the non‑reflexive pronouns:
- Hann segir henni sögu. = He tells her a story.
- Hann segir þeim sögu. = He tells them a story.
- Hann segir honum sögu. = He tells him (another man) a story.
With sér, the listener is always the same person (or people) as the subject.
sér itself never changes for gender or number. It’s:
- 3rd person
- reflexive
- dative
- any gender (masc./fem./neut.)
- singular or plural
So all of these use sér:
- Hann segir sér sögu. – He tells himself a story.
- Hún segir sér sögu. – She tells herself a story.
- Þau segja sér sögu. – They (mixed/neut.) tell themselves a story.
What does change is the verb and the subject pronoun, but sér stays the same in all 3rd‑person reflexive dative contexts.
In practice you should not use Hann segir sögu sér as a normal way to say He tells himself a story. It sounds wrong or at least very unnatural in a simple, neutral sentence.
The usual neutral order with this verb and two objects is:
Hann segir sér sögu.
While Icelandic word order can sometimes be flexible for emphasis, learners should treat dative (person) before accusative (thing) as the basic rule after segja.
So: stick with Hann segir sér sögu.
Not in the same sense. Hann segir sér on its own is incomplete and sounds odd in isolation; you’re left wondering what he is saying to himself.
To express “He talks to himself” or “He speaks to himself,” Icelandic would normally use a different verb or construction, for example:
- Hann talar við sjálfan sig. – He talks to himself.
So, for the meaning He tells himself a story, the full Hann segir sér sögu is needed.
Using the same pattern [subject] + segir/segja + sér + object, you get:
Hún segir sér sögu.
= She tells herself a story.Þau segja sér sögur.
= They (neut./mixed group) tell themselves stories.
Other plural pronouns:
- Þeir segja sér sögur. – They (masc.) tell themselves stories.
- Þær segja sér sögur. – They (fem.) tell themselves stories.
Note:
- segir (3rd sg.) with hún
- segja (3rd pl.) with þau/þeir/þær
- sögu (singular “a story”) vs. sögur (plural “stories”)
Approximate IPA and notes:
Hann → [haːn]
- h as in hat
- nn often pronounced like a long /n/.
segir → [ˈseiːjɪr] (roughly “SAY‑yir”)
- se like English say
- the g is soft; you hear a y‑sound in there.
sér → [sjɛːr]
- sj = like English “sy” in “s-yet” or a soft sh-y sound
- é = like ye in yes but longer.
sögu → [ˈsœːɣʏ]
- ö = front rounded vowel, between eu in French bleu and u in burn (but with rounded lips)
- g here is a voiced fricative [ɣ], like a soft gargled “gh”.
The trickiest parts for English speakers are usually:
- the sj sound in sér
- the ö vowel and soft g in sögu.