Breakdown of Það var mín laglína, en þinn texti.
vera
to be
en
but
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
textinn
the text
laglínan
the melody
Questions & Answers about Það var mín laglína, en þinn texti.
Why do mín and þinn come before the nouns here instead of after?
In standard Icelandic, possessive pronouns usually go after the noun. Placing them before the noun puts special emphasis on the possessor or creates a contrast. Here, it highlights the contrast between who contributed what: mín (my) melody versus þinn (your) lyrics.
Why do the nouns laglína and texti not have the definite article attached to them?
When a possessive pronoun is placed in front of the noun for emphasis, the noun must be in its indefinite form (without the attached article). If the sentence used normal word order without the heavy emphasis, the nouns would have the definite article: laglínan mín and textinn þinn.
Why is the word texti singular when the English translation says lyrics?
In English, we refer to the words of a song in the plural as lyrics, but Icelandic simply uses the singular noun texti (text) for this meaning.
Why do we use mín in the first half of the sentence but þinn in the second half?
Possessives must agree in gender, case, and number with the noun they belong to. Laglína is a feminine noun, requiring the feminine form mín, while texti is masculine, requiring the masculine form þinn. Both are in the nominative case here.
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