Learn Icelandic: Umsækjandinn sendir umboðið sitt. - The applicant sends his power of attorney.

Umsækjandinn sendir umboðið sitt.

The applicant sends his power of attorney.

Breakdown of Umsækjandinn sendir umboðið sitt.

sinn

his/her/their own (reflexive possessive)

the power of attorney

Questions & Answers about Umsækjandinn sendir umboðið sitt.

Why does umsækjandinn end in -andi, and how does that affect its plural?

The suffix -andi shows it is derived from a present participle (from að sækja um, to apply). Nouns ending in -andi that denote people are masculine. A common pitfall is forgetting their plural shift: they change to -endur, making the plural of this word umsækjendur.

Why is the reflexive possessive sitt used here instead of hans?

We use the reflexive sitt because the power of attorney belongs to the subject of the sentence (umsækjandinn). If the sentence used hans, it would mean the applicant was sending another man's document. Sitt takes the neuter accusative form here to agree with umboðið.

Could we write sitt umboðið or sitt umboð instead of umboðið sitt?

In everyday Icelandic, possessive pronouns almost always follow the noun, and that noun must take the definite article, which gives us umboðið sitt. Putting the possessive first (sitt umboð) is grammatically possible but sounds very formal, emphatic, or poetic.

Is umboð only used in strict legal contexts like "power of attorney"?