When describing actions like keeping something with you, putting an item away, or looking around, the preposition's object refers back to the subject of the sentence. For third-person subjects (he, she, it, they), Icelandic requires a special reflexive pronoun instead of regular personal pronouns like hann or hún.
The reflexive pronoun changes its form depending on the case the preposition governs:
| Case | Reflexive Pronoun |
|---|
| Accusative | sig |
| Dative | sér |
| Genitive | sín |
Keeping Things Close: Prepositions with "sér"
When talking about packing essentials or keeping items at hand, you will often use prepositions that govern the dative case. The third-person reflexive dative form is sér. Common phrases include:
- með sér (with them / bringing along)
- hjá sér (next to them / with them)
- frá sér (away from them)
Personal Space: Prepositions with "sig"
When defining personal space or describing your immediate surroundings, prepositions like í kringum (around) and fyrir aftan (behind) govern the accusative case. The reflexive accusative form is sig.
Direction and Movement: "sín", "sig", and "sér"
The preposition til (towards) always governs the genitive case, making its reflexive form sín (til sín).
Finally, watch out for prepositions like á (on) that change case depending on movement. A static location takes the dative (á sér):
An action or movement onto the body takes the accusative (á sig). Notice how both the genitive (til sín) and accusative (á sig) apply in this sentence: