Breakdown of Foreldrarnir gæta eigna sinna út af óveðrinu.
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
út af
because of (+ dative)
óveðrið
the storm
foreldrarnir
the parents
gæta
to take care of
eignin
the possession
Questions & Answers about Foreldrarnir gæta eigna sinna út af óveðrinu.
Why are eigna and sinna in the genitive case here?
This happens because of the verb gæta (to take care of, to guard). This verb always requires its object to be in the genitive case. Therefore, the noun eignir (possessions) changes to its genitive plural form eigna, and the possessive pronoun follows suit.
Why do we use sinna instead of þeirra (their)?
sinna is a form of the reflexive possessive pronoun sinn (one's own). We use it here because the possessions belong to the subject of the sentence (Foreldrarnir). If we used the regular pronoun þeirra, it would mean the parents were guarding someone else's possessions!
How do we know which form of sinn to use to get sinna?
sinn must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it describes. Here, it is describing eigna (possessions), which is plural and in the genitive case. The genitive plural form of sinn is sinna, regardless of whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Why is óveðrinu in the dative case?
The phrase út af (because of) dictates that the following noun must be in the dative case. The base word is the neuter noun óveður (storm). When we add the dative definite article -inu, the -u- in the final syllable of the root word drops out, giving us óveðrinu.
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