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Icelandic

### Colloquial Possession with Names

When talking about things belonging to specific people—like your neighbors' yard tools—Icelandic frequently uses a colloquial structure. 

Instead of a simple "Jón's lawnmower," speakers typically say "the lawnmower his Jón's."

The formula is:
**Definite Noun** + **hans** (his) / **hennar** (her) + **Name in the Genitive Case**

The pronoun acts almost like an article for the person's name.

{{item:1056466}}

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### Changing the Case of the Possessed Object

The possessed noun changes case depending on its role in the sentence, just like any other noun. However, the pronoun (**hans** or **hennar**) and the name remain firmly locked in the genitive case. 

In the following examples, the verbs *vanta* (to need) and *nota* (to use) require the accusative case, so the borrowed items change to their accusative definite forms:

{{item:1056471}}

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If a verb requires the dative case, like *skila* (to return), only the possessed item takes the dative form:

{{item:1056477}}

### Possessing Plural Items

The same rules apply to plural items. Keep in mind that some items, like *hjólbörur* (wheelbarrow) and *skíði* (skis), are always plural in Icelandic.

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### Putting It All Together

You can mix and match these possessive phrases in the same sentence, applying the case rules to each possessed noun individually.

{{item:1056483}}

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Colloquial possession with names (sláttuvélin hans Jóns)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Obligation (eiga að)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Question	Answer
the lawnmower	sláttuvélin
Where is Jón's lawnmower?	Hvar er sláttuvélin hans Jóns?
the garden hose	garðslangan
ruined	ónýtur
Anna's garden hose is unfortunately ruined.	Garðslangan hennar Önnu er því miður ónýt.
the trailer	kerran
I need Einar's trailer tomorrow.	Mig vantar kerruna hans Einars á morgun.
the rake	hrífan
I intend to use María's rake while she is at work.	Ég ætla að nota hrífuna hennar Maríu á meðan hún er í vinnunni.
the barbecue	grillið
Is Sigrún's barbecue ruined?	Er grillið hennar Sigrúnar ónýtt?
the wheelbarrow	hjólbörurnar
We need to return Páll's wheelbarrow immediately.	Við þurfum að skila hjólbörunum hans Páls strax.
the camper trailer	tjaldvagninn
the camping trip	útilegan
We are getting Kristín's camper trailer for the camping trip.	Við fáum tjaldvagninn hennar Kristínar fyrir útileguna.
the skis	skíðin
Who takes care of Jón's skis while he is out?	Hver sér um skíðin hans Jóns á meðan hann er úti?
He puts María's barbecue into Einar's trailer.	Hann setur grillið hennar Maríu í kerruna hans Einars.
I intend to use Jón's wheelbarrow and Anna's rake.	Ég ætla að nota hjólbörurnar hans Jóns og hrífuna hennar Önnu.
Páll cleans Jón's lawnmower because it is dirty.	Páll þrífur sláttuvélina hans Jóns af því að hún er skítug.
May I use Einar's garden hose today?	Má ég nota garðslönguna hans Einars í dag?
Kristín's skis are very expensive.	Skíðin hennar Kristínar eru mjög dýr.
Jón cleans Anna's camper trailer himself for the camping trip.	Jón þrífur tjaldvagninn hennar Önnu sjálfur fyrir útileguna.