Breakdown of Húðin á höndunum er þurr á veturna.
vera
to be
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
þurr
dry
veturinn
the winter
höndin
the hand
húðin
the skin
Questions & Answers about Húðin á höndunum er þurr á veturna.
Why does the word for hand change to höndunum here, when the normal plural is hendur?
The word hönd is irregular. While its nominative plural is hendur, the dative plural ending -um always triggers a vowel shift (the U-shift) which changes the vowel back to ö. This makes it höndum, and adding the dative plural definite article -num gives us höndunum.
The preposition á appears twice. Why does it take the dative case for höndunum but the accusative case for veturna?
When á describes a static physical location, like being "on" the hands, it dictates the dative case. However, when á is used to describe a recurring season (meaning "every winter" or "during wintertime"), it requires the accusative case.
Could I just use í vetur instead of á veturna to mean "in winter"?
Not in this context. The phrase í vetur specifically means "this winter" (referring to the current, recently past, or upcoming one). To talk about winter as a general, recurring season, you must use á plus the definite accusative plural: á veturna (literally "on the winters").
Why does the sentence say á höndunum (on the hands) instead of specifying whose hands they are?
In Icelandic, it is standard practice to just use the definite article for body parts when the "owner" is obvious or when making a general statement. You generally do not use a possessive pronoun (like "my" or "your") with body parts unless you need to emphasize who they belong to.
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