Breakdown of Hann grípur hundinn sinn þegar eldingin kemur.
hundurinn
the dog
hann
he
koma
to come
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
þegar
when
grípa
to catch
eldingin
the lightning
Questions & Answers about Hann grípur hundinn sinn þegar eldingin kemur.
Why do we use sinn here instead of hans for "his"?
Sinn is a reflexive possessive pronoun meaning "his own". Because hann (he) is the subject of the sentence and he is grabbing his own dog, we must use sinn. If you used hans, it would mean he is grabbing some other man's dog!
How would we change this sentence to use the fara að grammar to say "He starts to grab his dog"?
You would conjugate the verb fara to match the subject and put the main verb in the infinitive: Hann fer að grípa hundinn sinn. This is the perfect way to express that he is just starting or is about to do the action.
Why is the word for "the dog" spelled hundinn here?
It is in the accusative case because it's the direct object of the verb grípa (to grab). The base masculine word hundur becomes hund in the accusative, and then we add the masculine accusative definite article -inn to get hundinn (the dog).
Is koma (to come) the usual verb to use for lightning happening?
Yes, saying eldingin kemur (literally "the lightning comes") is a very natural and common way to say that lightning flashes or appears in Icelandic. You can also use að slá niður if you specifically want to say the lightning "strikes" the ground.
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