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### Reflexive Pronouns Across Clauses

In English, reflexive pronouns like "himself" or "herself" are normally only used when the subject and object of the *same* clause are the same person (e.g., "He sees himself"). If you start a new clause, you switch back to regular pronouns: "He thinks that the people judge *him*."

In Icelandic, however, a special grammar feature called **long-distance reflexivization** allows reflexive pronouns to reach across clause boundaries. When a subordinate clause expresses the thoughts, words, or desires of the main clause's subject, the reflexive pronoun inside the subordinate clause refers back to that main subject.

### The Accusative: sig

If the verb or preposition in the subordinate clause requires the accusative case, use **sig**. 

In the following example, *dæma* (to judge) takes the accusative. Because the subordinate clause describes what "he" is thinking, **sig** points all the way back to "Hann". (If you used *hann* instead of *sig*, it would mean he thinks people are judging a *different* man!)

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### The Dative: sér

If the verb or preposition in the subordinate clause requires the dative case, use **sér**. For instance, the verb *hjálpa* (to help) always takes the dative.

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### The Genitive: sín

When the verb in the subordinate clause requires the genitive case, such as *sakna* (to miss), the reflexive pronoun becomes **sín**.

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### Talking About the Self

Because long-distance reflexives deal heavily with thoughts, beliefs, and speech, they pair naturally with vocabulary about psychology and self-perception.

You will frequently see these reflexive pronouns combined with prepositions, such as **hjá sér** (with/of oneself) or **fyrir sér** (for oneself), to describe how a subject believes others interact with their mind, mood, or life.

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### Doubts and Desires

Long-distance reflexives are also very common when talking about desires (what someone wants to happen) or insecurities (what someone fears might happen). Verbs like *vilja* (to want) strongly trigger this pattern. 

In the following examples, notice how **sig** and **sér** are used to refer back to the subjects of the main clauses across the boundary of the word *að* (that).

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Long-distance reflexivization (sig / sér / sín)

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
to judge	dæma
He thinks that the people judge him.	Hann heldur að fólkið dæmi sig.
She hopes that the doctor helps her.	Hún vonar að læknirinn hjálpi sér.
The patient says that his friend misses him.	Sjúklingurinn segir að vinurinn sakni sín.
the self-image	sjálfsmyndin
to overthink	ofhugsa
I need a better self-image because I overthink everything.	Mig vantar betri sjálfsmynd af því að ég ofhugsa allt.
to perceive	skynja
the mindset	hugarfarið
She thinks that he perceives her mindset.	Hún heldur að hann skynji hugarfarið hjá sér.
to suppress	bæla
the loneliness	einmanaleikinn
His head hurts because he is suppressing his loneliness.	Honum er illt í höfðinu af því að hann bælir einmanaleikann.
She didn't want the man to judge her for her loneliness.	Hún vildi ekki að maðurinn dæmdi sig fyrir einmanaleikann.
the self-awareness	sjálfsvitundin
She says that this self-awareness ruins things for her.	Hún segir að þessi sjálfsvitund skemmi fyrir sér.
the conviction	sannfæringin
He has just said that the conviction helps him.	Hann er nýbúinn að segja að sannfæringin hjálpi sér.
The patient believes that the mindset suppresses his self-image.	Sjúklingurinn trúir því að hugarfarið bæli sjálfsmyndina hjá sér.
We perceive that the teacher overthinks self-awareness.	Við skynjum að kennarinn ofhugsar sjálfsvitundina.
The psychologist asks about the conviction.	Sálfræðingurinn spyr um sannfæringuna.
insecure	óöruggur
The insecure boy thinks that everyone is looking at him.	Óöruggi strákurinn heldur að allir horfi á sig.
selfish	eigingjarn
The selfish woman hopes that the people answer her immediately.	Eigingjarna konan vonar að fólkið svari sér strax.
He is very insecure and thinks that the teacher does not miss him.	Hann er mjög óöruggur og heldur að kennarinn sakni sín ekki.
The boy himself is insecure and does not want us to forget him.	Strákurinn sjálfur er óöruggur og vill ekki að við gleymum sér.
The selfish man thinks that everyone thinks about him.	Eigingjarni maðurinn heldur að allir hugsi um sig.

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