Breakdown of Hann elskar eiginkonuna sína.
hann
he
elska
to love
sinn
his/her/their own (reflexive possessive)
eiginkonan
the wife
Questions & Answers about Hann elskar eiginkonuna sína.
Why do we use sína here instead of hans for "his"?
In Icelandic, you must use a reflexive possessive pronoun (like sinn, sín, sitt) when the subject of the sentence owns the object. Since "he" is the subject and it is his own wife, we use sína. If we used hans, it would mean he loves someone else's wife!
Why does eiginkonuna have the definite article attached if it is already "his" wife?
English says "his wife", but Icelandic typically structures this as "the wife his". When you use a possessive pronoun like sína, the noun before it usually takes the attached definite article (in this case, the -na ending).
What case is eiginkonuna sína, and why?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb elskar (loves). The base word eiginkona becomes eiginkonu in the accusative, and adding the definite article makes it eiginkonuna.
Why is the possessive pronoun specifically sína instead of another form like sinn?
The possessive pronoun must match the noun it describes in gender, number, and case. Eiginkona is a feminine noun, it is singular, and it is in the accusative case here. The feminine, singular, accusative form of the root word sinn is sína.