Ég strauja skyrtuna mína áður en ég fer í vinnu.

I iron my shirt before I go to work.

Breakdown of Ég strauja skyrtuna mína áður en ég fer í vinnu.

• ég: I
• fara: to go
• í: to
• minn: my

Questions & Answers about Ég strauja skyrtuna mína áður en ég fer í vinnu.

Why is it skyrtuna and not skyrta?

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

Here, skyrtuna is the direct object of strauja (to iron), so Icelandic puts it in the accusative case.

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

So Ég strauja skyrtuna mína literally has the structure I iron the shirt my = I iron my shirt.

Why is mína after the noun instead of before it?

In Icelandic, possessives often come after the noun, especially when the noun is definite.

So:

• skyrtuna mína = my shirt / the shirt of mine

This is a very common and natural pattern in Icelandic.

The possessive mína agrees with skyrtuna in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: accusative

That is why it is mína, not minn or mitt.

A form with the possessive before the noun can exist in some contexts, but skyrtuna mína is the normal, natural way here.