Afsökunin hennar hjálpaði mér að fyrirgefa henni.

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• afsökun = apology / excuse
• afsökunin = the apology

So the ending -in here is the suffixed definite article. That is very common in Icelandic.

That is the normal Icelandic pattern with this kind of possessive pronoun.

• afsökunin hennar = her apology
• literally: the apology her

English usually says her apology, but Icelandic very often says the apology her. This is a standard structure, not something unusual.

Because Icelandic changes pronouns for case.

Here are the relevant forms of she:

• hún = she (nominative)
• hana = her (accusative)
• henni = her (dative)
• hennar = her / hers (genitive)

In this sentence:

• hennar shows possession: her apology
• henni is the object of fyrirgefa, and that verb takes the dative

So English uses her for several jobs, but Icelandic uses different forms.

Because hjálpa takes a dative object in Icelandic.

• hjálpa mér = help me
• not hjálpa mig

So mér is the dative form of ég:

• ég = I
• mig = me (accusative)
• mér = me (dative)

A lot of Icelandic verbs require a specific case, and hjálpa is one of the verbs that takes dative.

Hjálpaði is the past tense, third-person singular form of hjálpa (to help).

• hjálpa = to help
• hjálpaði = helped

Since the subject is afsökunin hennar (her apology), which is singular, the verb is also singular.

Because Icelandic often uses að + infinitive after certain verbs, including hjálpa.

The pattern is:

• hjálpa einhverjum að gera eitthvað
• help someone to do something

So here:

• hjálpaði mér að fyrirgefa henni
• helped me to forgive her

English often drops to in this kind of sentence, but Icelandic normally keeps að.

Because fyrirgefa takes a dative object.

So:

• fyrirgefa henni = forgive her
• not fyrirgefa hana

This is one of those verb patterns you simply have to learn with the verb. In Icelandic, it is very important to learn not just what a verb means, but also what case it governs.

Most commonly, yes. The basic and very common pattern is:

• fyrirgefa einhverjum = forgive someone

So in this sentence:

• að fyrirgefa henni = to forgive her

You may also see broader uses depending on context, but for a learner, the key thing to remember is that the person forgiven is usually in the dative.

Yes. Afsökun can mean either apology or excuse, depending on context.

In this sentence, apology is the natural meaning, because the rest of the sentence talks about forgiving someone:

• Afsökunin hennar hjálpaði mér að fyrirgefa henni.

That context strongly points to her apology rather than her excuse.

The structure is:

• Afsökunin hennar = subject
• hjálpaði = finite verb
• mér = indirect object / dative object of hjálpa
• að fyrirgefa henni = infinitive phrase

So the sentence is built like this:

• Her apology
  • helped
    • me
      • to forgive her

This is a very normal Icelandic structure.

Because sinn/sín/sitt is used when the possessor refers back to the subject of the clause.

But the subject here is:

• afsökunin hennar = her apology

The woman is not the grammatical subject; the apology is. So Icelandic does not use the reflexive possessive here.

That is why hennar is correct.

Some changes are possible in Icelandic, but the sentence as given is the most neutral and natural order.

• Afsökunin hennar hjálpaði mér að fyrirgefa henni.

Icelandic does allow different word orders for emphasis, but beginners should first learn the neutral pattern: subject first, finite verb early in the sentence, and the infinitive phrase later.