Faðirinn knúsar dóttur sína á hverjum morgni áður en hún fer í skólann.

The ending -inn is the suffixed definite article in Icelandic. So:

• faðir = father
• faðirinn = the father

Unlike English, Icelandic usually adds the to the end of the noun instead of putting it in front.

Because dóttur is the accusative singular form of dóttir.

In this sentence, dóttur sína is the direct object of knúsar (hugs), and the verb knúsa takes the accusative case.

So:

• dóttir = nominative singular, used for the subject
• dóttur = accusative singular, used here as the object

A native English speaker often has to get used to the fact that Icelandic changes noun forms depending on their role in the sentence.

Because sína is a reflexive possessive, used when the possessor is the same as the subject of the clause.

Here, the subject is faðirinn (the father), and the daughter belongs to him, so Icelandic uses sína:

• Faðirinn knúsar dóttur sína = The father hugs his own daughter

If you used hans, it would normally suggest that the daughter belongs to some other male person, not the subject.

This is one of the most important grammar points in Icelandic.

The form of the reflexive possessive has to agree with the noun it goes with.

Here it modifies dóttur, which is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So the correct form is sína.

Compare:

• son sinn = his own son
• dóttur sína = his own daughter
• barn sitt = his/her own child

So sína is chosen because it matches dóttur grammatically.

Knúsar is the 3rd person singular present tense of knúsa, meaning to hug.

So:

• ég knúsa = I hug
• þú knúsar = you hug
• hann/hún knúsar = he/she hugs

In the sentence, faðirinn knúsar means the father hugs.

This expression means every morning, and both hverjum and morgni are in the dative singular.

Here is the breakdown:

• á = on / at
• hverjum = dative form of hver (each/every)
• morgni = dative singular of morgunn (morning)

So literally it is something like on each morning, but the natural English meaning is every morning.

This is a set time expression, and Icelandic often uses case forms in these expressions where English just uses a fixed phrase.

The preposition á can take different cases depending on meaning.

In this sentence, á hverjum morgni is a time expression, and that idiomatic expression uses the dative.

More generally, Icelandic prepositions are very case-sensitive, so you often have to learn the case together with the phrase, not just the meaning of the preposition by itself.

So it is best to learn á hverjum morgni as a whole chunk meaning every morning.

Áður en means before and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• áður en hún fer í skólann = before she goes to school

You can think of it as:

• áður = before / earlier
• en = conjunction here, introducing the clause

It works much like English before followed by a full clause.

Fer is the 3rd person singular present tense of fara (to go).

So:

• hún fer = she goes

In Icelandic, just like in English, the present tense is often used in clauses like before she goes, especially in habitual statements or when referring to the future from the point of view of the main clause.

So áður en hún fer í skólann is completely normal Icelandic.

In normal reading, hún refers to dóttur sína — the daughter.

That is the most natural interpretation because:

• dóttir is feminine singular
• hún is feminine singular
• semantically, it makes sense that the daughter goes to school

So the sentence is understood as: the father hugs his daughter before she goes to school.

Because í takes the accusative when it expresses movement toward/into something, and the dative when it expresses location in something.

Here the meaning is go to school, so there is movement:

• í skólann = to/into the school → accusative

Compare:

• Hún fer í skólann. = She goes to school.
• Hún er í skólanum. = She is at/in the school.

This accusative-vs-dative contrast after certain prepositions is a core feature of Icelandic grammar.

That is just a difference between the two languages.

In Icelandic, it is very common to say í skólann where English says to school without an article. The definite form is the normal idiomatic choice here.

So even though the literal form looks more like to the school, the natural English translation is usually just to school.

This is a good example of why you should not translate word-for-word too mechanically.

It describes a habitual/repeated action.

The clue is á hverjum morgni = every morning.

So the present tense here means something like:

• The father hugs his daughter every morning before she goes to school.

It is not about just one particular morning, but about something that regularly happens.

The basic structure is:

• Faðirinn = subject
• knúsar = verb
• dóttur sína = object
• á hverjum morgni = time expression
• áður en hún fer í skólann = subordinate clause

So the main clause follows a normal Icelandic pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial

Icelandic word order can be more flexible than English, especially because case endings help show grammatical roles, but this sentence uses a very straightforward and natural order.

Yes, Icelandic allows some flexibility, especially with time expressions and subordinate clauses.

For example, you could move the time expression forward for emphasis. But when something comes first in an Icelandic main clause, the finite verb usually still stays in second position.

So while the original sentence is very natural and neutral, Icelandic does allow rearrangement more easily than English.

For a learner, though, the original version is an excellent model to follow.