Breakdown of Njóti hann starfsloka sinna!
hann
he
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
njóta
to enjoy
starfslokin
the retirement (end of employment)
Questions & Answers about Njóti hann starfsloka sinna!
Why does the sentence start with the verb njóti instead of using the normal present tense nýtur?
Njóti is the present subjunctive form of njóta (to enjoy). As you are learning in this lesson, we use the present subjunctive at the beginning of a main clause to express a wish or a blessing, translating roughly to "May he..." or "Let him...".
Why is the object starfsloka sinna in the genitive case instead of the accusative?
The verb njóta is one of those special verbs that rules (or "governs") the genitive case. Whenever you enjoy something in Icelandic, that thing must take the genitive form.
Why use sinna for "his" rather than hans?
We use the reflexive possessive pronoun sinn (here in the genitive plural form sinna) because the retirement belongs to the subject of the sentence (hann). If you used hans, it would imply he is enjoying some other man's retirement!
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