Breakdown of Fjölskyldan gætir öryggis síns í bænum.
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
bærinn
the town
fjölskyldan
the family
sinn
his/her/their own (reflexive possessive)
gæta
to take care of
öryggið
the safety
Questions & Answers about Fjölskyldan gætir öryggis síns í bænum.
Why are the words for safety (öryggis) and its own (síns) in the genitive case here?
The verb gætir (from að gæta, meaning to watch over, guard, or take care of) always requires the object that follows it to be in the genitive case. Because öryggi (safety) is the object being watched over, it changes to its genitive form öryggis, and the possessive pronoun síns must match it.
Why do we use síns instead of hennar (her) or þess (its)?
The subject of the sentence is fjölskyldan (the family). Since the family is watching over its own safety, we use the reflexive possessive pronoun sinn (in its genitive form síns). If we used þess or hennar, it would mean the family is watching over some other person's or group's safety.
Fjölskyldan is a feminine noun, so why is the pronoun síns in the neuter form instead of feminine?
A possessive pronoun always matches the gender, number, and case of the noun it owns or describes, not the owner! It describes öryggis (safety), which is a neuter noun. Therefore, the pronoun must be the neuter singular genitive form, síns.
Why is bænum in the dative case?
The preposition í takes the dative case when it describes a stationary location (where something is happening). Since the family is already in the town, bærinn (the town) changes to its dative form, bænum.
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