Breakdown of Er grillið hennar Sigrúnar ónýtt?
vera
to be
hennar
her / hers (genitive)
Sigrún
Sigrún
ónýtur
ruined
grillið
the barbecue
Questions & Answers about Er grillið hennar Sigrúnar ónýtt?
Why do we say grillið hennar Sigrúnar instead of just grill Sigrúnar?
This is the most common, natural way to show possession with people's names in spoken Icelandic. You use the definite noun (grillið), the genitive pronoun for his/her (hans or hennar), and then the person's name in the genitive case (Sigrúnar). It literally translates to "the barbecue of hers Sigrún".
Does the noun being owned always have to be definite in this structure?
Yes. When using this conversational possession structure (noun + hans/hennar + name), the noun you are talking about must always have the attached definite article. That is why it is grillið (the barbecue) and not just grill.
Why is the name Sigrún written as Sigrúnar here?
Because Sigrún is the owner, her name must be in the genitive (possessive) case. For female names ending in -rún, the genitive form adds -ar, making it Sigrúnar.
Why does the adjective ónýtt end in -tt?
Adjectives must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Grill is a neuter noun in the nominative case, so the dictionary form of the adjective ónýtur (ruined or useless) changes to its neuter nominative form, ónýtt.
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