Hún straujar skyrtuna sína á meðan ég tek fötin úr þurrkaranum.

Because sína is the reflexive possessive, used when the thing belongs to the subject of the same clause.

Here, the subject is Hún (she), and the shirt belongs to her, so Icelandic uses sína:

• Hún straujar skyrtuna sína = She is ironing her own shirt

If you said hennar instead, it would usually mean someone else’s shirt:

• Hún straujar skyrtuna hennar = She is ironing her shirt (another woman’s shirt)

This is one of the most important uses of sinn / sín / sitt in Icelandic.

Because sinn changes form to match the noun it describes.

It agrees with skyrtuna, which is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So the correct form is sína.

A quick overview of the singular forms:

• masculine: sinn
• feminine: sína
• neuter: sitt

So:

• bílinn sinn = his/her own car
• skyrtuna sína = his/her own shirt
• húsið sitt = his/her own house

Skyrtuna is the definite accusative singular form of skyrta (shirt).

Breakdown:

• skyrta = a shirt
• skyrtan = the shirt (nominative)
• skyrtuna = the shirt (accusative)

It is accusative here because it is the direct object of strauja (to iron). She is ironing the shirt, so the object appears in the accusative.

Straujar is the present tense form of the verb strauja (to iron).

So:

• að strauja = to iron
• hún straujar = she irons / she is ironing

In Icelandic, the simple present tense can often translate as either English she irons or she is ironing, depending on context.

Á meðan means while.

It introduces a clause describing something happening at the same time as the main action:

• Hún straujar skyrtuna sína á meðan ég tek fötin úr þurrkaranum.
• She irons her shirt while I take the clothes out of the dryer.

You can think of á meðan as a time-linking expression meaning during the time that.

Because taka is the infinitive (to take), while tek is the 1st person singular present tense (I take / I am taking).

This verb is irregular:

• að taka = to take
• ég tek = I take
• þú tekur = you take
• hann/hún/það tekur = he/she/it takes

So in the sentence, ég tek correctly means I take / I am taking.

Because fötin means the clothes, while föt means just clothes in a more indefinite sense.

• föt = clothes
• fötin = the clothes

In this sentence, the meaning is specific: the speaker is taking the clothes out of the dryer, so the definite form is natural.

Also, föt is a plural-only noun in Icelandic. You normally use it in the plural, not as a singular noun.

Because the preposition úr requires the dative case, and þurrkaranum is the dative singular definite form of þurrkari (dryer).

Breakdown:

• þurrkari = dryer
• þurrkaranum = the dryer (dative)

So:

• úr þurrkaranum = out of the dryer

This is very common in Icelandic: many prepositions require a specific case, and úr takes the dative.

Here úr means out of or from inside.

So:

• tek fötin úr þurrkaranum = I take the clothes out of the dryer

It often refers to movement from the inside of something:

• úr húsinu = out of the house
• úr bílnum = out of the car
• úr vasanum = out of the pocket

Yes, but Icelandic still follows its normal verb-second patterns.

For example, you could also say:

• Á meðan ég tek fötin úr þurrkaranum, straujar hún skyrtuna sína.

That still means the same thing: While I take the clothes out of the dryer, she irons her shirt.

Notice that when the time clause comes first, the verb in the main clause still comes early:

• Á meðan ... straujar hún ...

So the sentence structure can move around more freely than in English, but not completely freely.

It could be either, depending on context.

The Icelandic present tense often covers both:

• She is ironing her shirt while I’m taking the clothes out of the dryer
• She irons her shirt while I take the clothes out of the dryer

Without extra context, many learners will understand it as an action happening now, but grammatically Icelandic present tense can also describe routine actions.

You know it from the subject of the clause.

In this clause, the subject is Hún (she), so sína refers back to her.

If the subject were masculine, the same reflexive system would still apply:

• Hann straujar skyrtuna sína. = He irons his own shirt.

So sína itself does not tell you whether the owner is male or female. It tells you that the owner is the subject of the clause. The subject tells you who that is.

A rough guide for English speakers is:

• strau- sounds somewhat like stroy
• -jar sounds roughly like yar

So a rough approximation is STROY-yar.

That is only approximate, but it helps as a starting point. The au diphthong in Icelandic does not match English perfectly, so it is best learned by listening to native audio if possible.