When expressing possession in Icelandic, the words for "my" (minn) and "your" (þinn) must agree with their noun in gender, number, and case. They also generally come after the noun.
Here is how these possessive pronouns look in the dative case, which is triggered by certain prepositions (like frá and hjá) and verbs (like hjálpa, svara, and trúa).
Masculine Singular
For masculine nouns in the dative case, use mínum and þínum.
Feminine Singular
For feminine nouns in the dative case, use minni and þinni.
Neuter Singular
For neuter nouns in the dative case, use mínu and þínu.
Plural (All Genders)
In the plural, the dative forms for all three genders are mínum and þínum. Notice that this is identical to the masculine singular form! You will also often see the familiar -um ending on the dative plural noun itself.
Family Compounds
When talking about extended family, you will often use compound words ending in -faðir (father) and -móðir (mother), such as tengdafaðir (father-in-law) or stjúpmóðir (stepmother).
These endings decline just like the stand-alone words for father and mother. In the dative:
- -faðir becomes -föður (masculine, taking mínum / þínum)
- -móðir becomes -móður (feminine, taking minni / þinni)
