Questions & Answers about Snjallsíminn minn er nýjastur.
What does the -inn on snjallsíminn mean?
The ending -inn is the Icelandic definite article attached to the noun.
- snjallsími = smartphone (indefinite: a smartphone)
- snjallsíminn = the smartphone
Icelandic usually expresses the by adding an ending to the noun rather than using a separate word like English the.
Why can Icelandic say snjallsíminn minn (literally the smartphone my)?
In Icelandic, a possessive like minn commonly comes after the noun, and it can co-occur with the definite article:
- snjallsíminn minn = my smartphone (very common/neutral) English normally doesn’t allow the my smartphone, but Icelandic does: the definiteness is marked on the noun, and possession is added separately.
What grammatical case are snjallsíminn and minn in here?
They are in the nominative case because they form the subject of the sentence:
- Snjallsíminn minn (subject) er (is) nýjastur (newest)