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Servíettan mín er blá, en servíettan hennar er græn.

Servíettan mín er blá, en servíettan hennar er græn.
My napkin is blue, but her napkin is green.

Breakdown of Servíettan mín er blá, en servíettan hennar er græn.

vera
to be
en
but
grænn
green
mín
my
blár
blue
hennar
her
servíettan
the napkin
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Questions & Answers about Servíettan mín er blá, en servíettan hennar er græn.

Why does servíetta become servíettan here?

-an is the suffixed definite article for a feminine noun in the nominative singular. So:

  • servíetta = a napkin
  • servíettan = the napkin

Icelandic usually puts the onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Why is the possessive mín placed after the noun: servíettan mín?

That word order is very common in Icelandic when the noun is definite:

  • servíettan mín = my napkin (literally the napkin my)

You can also say mín servíetta, but that usually sounds more like a napkin of mine / my (one) napkin, and the noun is then typically indefinite (no -an).

How do I know which form of minn to use (e.g., mín vs mitt vs minn)?

Possessives like minn behave like adjectives: they agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

For nominative singular:

  • masculine: minn
  • feminine: mín
  • neuter: mitt

Since servíetta is feminine, you use mín: servíettan mín.

Why is hennar not changing form the way mín does?

hennar is the genitive form meaning her (literally of her). In modern Icelandic, hennar is indeclinable in this possessive use, so it stays hennar regardless of the noun:

  • servíettan hennar = her napkin
  • bókin hennar = her book
  • húsið hennar = her house
Why do the color words look “different” from the dictionary forms (like blár, grænn)?

Adjectives also agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Here the noun is feminine nominative singular (servíettan), so the adjectives take feminine nominative singular forms:

  • blár → blá (fem. nom. sg.)
  • grænn → græn (fem. nom. sg.)

So: Servíettan mín er blá / servíettan hennar er græn.

Why is it er and not eru?

er is the 3rd person singular present of vera (to be). Each subject (servíettan mín, servíettan hennar) is singular, so you use er:

  • singular: er
  • plural: eru
What does en do here, and why is there a comma before it?

en most commonly means but (contrast):

  • ... blá, en ... græn = ... blue, but ... green

A comma before en is standard when it connects two full clauses (each with its own subject + verb), as it does here.

Could I avoid repeating servíettan the second time?

Yes, if it’s already clear what you’re talking about. You can drop the noun and use the possessives as stand-ins:

  • Mín er blá, en hennar er græn. = Mine is blue, but hers is green.

Repeating servíettan is just more explicit and often sounds natural, especially for clarity.

Is servíettan mín literally “the napkin my”? Is that normal?

Yes—many Icelandic “noun + possessive” phrases look that way in English. It’s completely normal and very common:

  • bókin mín = my book
  • vinurinn minn = my friend
  • húsið mitt = my house

English uses my + noun; Icelandic often uses definite noun + possessive.

How should I pronounce the tricky parts (like servíettan, mín, hennar, græn)?

A rough guide:

  • servíettan: stress on the first syllable: SER-vi-et-tan (the í is a long “ee”-like sound)
  • mín: like “meen” (long í)
  • hennar: roughly HEN-nar (rolled/tapped r at the end)
  • græn: approximately “gry-” with Icelandic æ (like the vowel in English eye for many speakers), plus n at the end

(Exact pronunciation varies by accent, but the key points are first-syllable stress and the long vowels í and æ.)