Breakdown of Konan gætir eignar sinnar.
konan
the woman
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
gæta
to take care of
eignin
the possession
Questions & Answers about Konan gætir eignar sinnar.
Why are the words for possession and her own in the genitive case here?
The verb gæta (to watch over, to take care of) requires its object to take the genitive case. Because of this, both the noun eignar and the pronoun sinnar must be in the genitive.
Why do we use sinnar instead of hennar?
We use the reflexive possessive pronoun sinnar because the possession belongs to the subject of the sentence (Konan). It translates to her own. If we used the regular pronoun hennar, it would mean she is watching over a different woman's property.
How do we know to use the specific form sinnar?
The word sinn must agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case. The noun eign is feminine and singular, and here it is in the genitive case because of the verb. The feminine singular genitive form of sinn is sinnar.
What is the base form of eignar?
The base dictionary form is eign, which is a feminine noun. When placed in the genitive case, it adds the suffix -ar to become eignar.