The Relative Pronoun "sem"
In Icelandic, use the relative pronoun sem to connect two clauses and describe a noun—like "the author who wrote the book" or "the house that I built".
The best thing about sem is that it never changes form. Whether it translates to "who," "which," or "that", and regardless of the noun's gender or number, it is always just sem.
"Sem" as the Subject
When the person or thing you are describing performs the action in the connected clause, sem acts as the subject.
| This is the author who wrote the book. | Þetta er rithöfundurinn sem skrifaði bókina. |
| The chef who cooks the food is very good. | Kokkurinn sem eldar matinn er mjög góður. |
In these examples, sem refers to the author and the chef, who are performing the actions (writing and cooking). Here are a few more examples describing professions:
| The waiter who helps us is happy. | Þjónninn sem hjálpar okkur er glaður. |
| The vet helps the dog that is sick. | Dýralæknirinn hjálpar hundinum sem er veikur. |
"Sem" as the Object
Sem can also act as the object of the connected clause. This happens when someone else is performing the action on the noun being described, such as "the news that I read."
| The journalist writes the news that I always read. | Blaðamaðurinn skrifar fréttina sem ég les alltaf. |
| The picture that the photographer took is very beautiful. | Myndin sem ljósmyndarinn tók er mjög falleg. |
Here, the subject of the second clause comes right after sem (ég and ljósmyndarinn), while sem stands in for the object receiving the action (fréttina and myndin).
| The tooth that the dentist fixed is fine now. | Tönnin sem tannlæknirinn lagaði er fín núna. |