Breakdown of Er öklinn á þér ennþá bólginn?
vera
to be
þú
you
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
ennþá
yet
öklinn
the ankle
bólginn
swollen
Questions & Answers about Er öklinn á þér ennþá bólginn?
Why do we say öklinn á þér instead of öklinn þinn?
For external body parts like an ankle (ökli), Icelandic typically uses the definite form of the noun (öklinn) followed by the preposition á and the dative form of the pronoun (þér). Saying öklinn þinn would sound like you are referring to a detached ankle that you happen to own, rather than a part of your own body!
Why does the adjective bólginn end in -inn here?
Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Ökli is a masculine noun, and because it is the subject of this sentence, it is in the nominative case. Therefore, we use the masculine nominative singular form of the adjective, which is bólginn.
If we were asking about a feminine body part, how would the sentence change?
The definite noun and the adjective would both need to change to their feminine forms. For example, if you asked about a shoulder (öxl), the sentence would be Er öxlin á þér ennþá bólgin? Notice how the adjective bólginn drops the last n. The possession phrase á þér stays exactly the same, because þér is just the dative form of 'you'.
Can I use enn instead of ennþá?
Yes, absolutely! Both enn and ennþá mean 'still' and they are interchangeable in this context. Ennþá is just slightly more emphatic and very common in everyday spoken Icelandic.
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