Breakdown of Hann fer alltaf heim til sín eftir vaktina.
hann
he
alltaf
always
heim
home
fara
to go
til
to
eftir
after / for (waiting for)
vaktin
the shift
sín
of oneself
Questions & Answers about Hann fer alltaf heim til sín eftir vaktina.
Why do we use sín here instead of hans (his)?
Why is the reflexive pronoun in the genitive case (sín) instead of the accusative (sig) or dative (sér)?
The preposition til (to) always requires the word that follows it to be in the genitive case. Because he is going til (to) his own place, the base reflexive pronoun sig must change to its genitive form, sín.
How does heim til sín translate literally?
It translates literally as 'home to oneself'. In Icelandic, it is very common to pair heim with til plus a person to specify whose home you are going to. Að fara heim til sín is the standard conversational way to say 'going to one's own place'.
Why do we use heim here instead of heima?
Heim implies motion towards a destination (going home), which matches the active verb fer (goes). You use heima when there is no motion and you are already at the static location, for example if you wanted to say 'he is at home' (hann er heima).
Why is vaktina (the shift) in the accusative case here?
The preposition eftir forces the accusative case when it is used to talk about time, meaning 'after'. It only takes the dative case when it refers to physical position or movement, such as 'following' or 'walking along' something.
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