Hnerrinn hennar var svo sterkur að barnið fór að hlæja.

to be

Breakdown of Hnerrinn hennar var svo sterkur að barnið fór að hlæja.

• barnið: the child
• sterkur: strong
• hennar: her

Questions & Answers about Hnerrinn hennar var svo sterkur að barnið fór að hlæja.

Why is it hnerrinn and not just hnerri, especially since hennar already means her?

Hnerri means a sneeze. Hnerrinn means the sneeze.

In Icelandic, a possessed noun is very often made definite as well, so hnerrinn hennar is the normal way to say her sneeze. English uses just the possessive, but Icelandic commonly uses both the definite noun and the possessive pronoun together.

So the structure is roughly:

• hnerri = a sneeze
• hnerrinn = the sneeze
• hnerrinn hennar = her sneeze

The ending -inn is the suffixed definite article.

Why does hennar come after the noun?

That is the normal position for third-person possessives like hans, hennar, and þeirra in Icelandic.

So Icelandic usually says:

• hnerrinn hennar = her sneeze
• bíllinn hans = his car

This can feel backwards to an English speaker, because English puts her before the noun. But in Icelandic, hennar after the noun is the usual pattern.

Why is the adjective sterkur in that form?