Sandalarnir hennar eru fallegir, en mínir strigaskór eru betri í langan göngutúr.

Because Icelandic usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

• sandalar = sandals
• sandalarnir = the sandals

So sandalarnir hennar is literally something like the sandals of hers, even though natural English says her sandals.

That is a very common Icelandic pattern. Third-person possessives such as hennar (her), hans (his), and þeirra (their) usually come after the noun.

So Icelandic often says:

• sandalarnir hennar = her sandals

rather than putting hennar in front.

Also, hennar itself does not change to match the noun. It stays hennar whether the thing possessed is singular or plural.

Because the possessive is built differently here.

In mínir strigaskór, the possessive mínir comes before the noun, and in that pattern the noun normally appears without the attached definite article.

So compare:

• mínir strigaskór = my sneakers
• strigaskórnir mínir = my sneakers

Both are possible, but the structure is different. The version in your sentence puts a bit of contrast on my, which fits the idea: her sandals ... but my sneakers ...

Because Icelandic possessives change form to match the noun they describe.

The basic word is minn = my / mine, and here it becomes mínir because it matches strigaskór, which is masculine, plural, and nominative in this sentence.

So mínir is the masculine plural nominative form of minn.

This is very different from English, where my does not change.

Because the subject is plural.

• sandalarnir = plural
• strigaskór = plural here

So the verb vera (to be) must also be plural:

• er = is
• eru = are

That is why the sentence has eru fallegir and eru betri.

Because Icelandic adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here, sandalarnir is masculine plural nominative, so fallegur (beautiful) changes to fallegir.

A learner-friendly way to think about it is:

• noun changes form
• adjective changes with it

So fallegir is not just a random dictionary form; it is the form that matches sandalarnir.

Strigaskór means sneaker or canvas shoe, and in everyday English it is often translated as sneakers.

The interesting part is that strigaskór can look the same in nominative singular and nominative plural. So the noun form by itself does not tell you everything.

We know it is plural here because of the words around it:

• mínir is plural
• eru is plural

So in this sentence, strigaskór must mean sneakers, not sneaker.

Yes. Betri is the comparative form of góður.

• góður = good
• betri = better
• bestur = best

So Icelandic works like English here:

• good → better → best
• góður → betri → bestur

It is an irregular pattern, so it is best learned as a set.

Here it means but.

That can be confusing because en is also the word used for than in comparisons, for example:

• betri en ... = better than ...

But in your sentence, en joins two contrasting statements:

• Sandalarnir hennar eru fallegir, en ...
• Her sandals are beautiful, but ...

So here it is definitely but.

In this sentence, í langan göngutúr means for a long walk or on a long walk.

Literally, it looks more like into a long walk / walking trip, but Icelandic often uses prepositions differently from English. So this is best learned as a natural Icelandic phrase rather than translated word for word.

The important idea is:

• betri í langan göngutúr = better for a long walk

So even though English uses for, Icelandic uses í here.

Because langan has to match göngutúr.

The noun göngutúr is masculine singular, and after í in this expression the phrase is in the accusative. So langur changes to the masculine singular accusative form langan.

A useful pattern to notice is:

• masculine singular nominative: often -ur
• masculine singular accusative: often -an

So:

• langur → langan

It is a compound noun:

• ganga = to walk
• túr = trip / round / outing

So göngutúr is basically a walking trip, which is why it means walk or stroll.

Compounds are extremely common in Icelandic, so this is a very typical kind of word.

Yes.

Before a noun, mínir means my:

• mínir strigaskór = my sneakers

Without a noun, it can mean mine, if the noun is understood from context:

• Þeir eru mínir = They are mine

So the same Icelandic word family can cover both English my and mine, depending on how it is used in the sentence.