Internal Possession
When you go to the doctor in an English-speaking country, you talk about "my heart" or "his brain." In Icelandic, possession of internal body parts is expressed a bit differently. Instead of using a possessive word like "my," you name the specific organ first with the definite article (the heart), and then describe who it is inside of using the preposition í (in).
The formula for internal body parts is: Definite noun + í + Dative pronoun
| the heart | hjartað |
Because the preposition í dictates the case of the pronoun following it when indicating a fixed location, the person possessing the body part will always be in the dative case.
Here is a quick reminder of the personal pronouns in the dative case:
mér(I / me)þér(you)honum / henni / því(he / she / it)okkur(we)ykkur(you plural)þeim(they)
Therefore, "my heart" becomes hjartað í mér (literally: the heart in me), and "his heart" becomes hjartað í honum.
| The doctor listens to my heart. | Læknirinn hlustar á hjartað í mér. |
| His heart beats slowly. | Hjartað í honum slær hægt. |
Brains and Veins
This structure applies to all internal organs and structures, such as heilinn (the brain) and æðin (the vein).
| My brain is tired. | Heilinn í mér er þreyttur. |
| Her vein is blue. | Æðin í henni er blá. |
Subject vs. Object
The internal body part can act as the subject of the sentence, or it can be the object of a verb. Regardless of the role the body part plays in the sentence, the í + dative phrase remains exactly the same.
For example, if the doctor is examining "his lung" (lungað), the lung is the object, but he is still honum:
| The doctor examines his lung downstairs. | Læknirinn skoðar lungað í honum niðri. |
This consistency makes it easy to list multiple organs or describe various medical conditions during a checkup.
| His liver is large and his kidney is also large. | Lifrin í honum er stór og nýrað í honum er líka stórt. |
| My kidney works well. | Nýrað í mér virkar vel. |
| Your gallbladder is not healthy. | Gallblaðran í þér er ekki heilbrigð. |