Breakdown of Þetta er minn heiður, ekki þinn!
þetta
this
vera
to be
ekki
not
minn
my
þinn
your (sg.)
heiðurinn
the credit
Questions & Answers about Þetta er minn heiður, ekki þinn!
Why is the possessive pronoun minn placed before the noun heiður here?
Usually, possessive pronouns come after the noun in Icelandic. However, when you want to strongly emphasize whose it is—especially to create a contrast—you put the possessive before the noun. Because the speaker is explicitly contrasting "my credit" with "not yours" (ekki þinn), minn is moved to the front for focus.
Why is heiður in the indefinite form instead of having the definite article attached?
When a possessive pronoun is placed before the noun for emphasis (minn heiður), the noun must be in the indefinite form, dropping the attached article. If the possessive were in the standard, unemphasized position after the noun, you would use the definite form: heiðurinn minn.
Heiður is a masculine noun, so why does the sentence start with the neuter pronoun þetta?
When using "This is..." or "That is..." to introduce a general situation, concept, or an unidentified thing, Icelandic uses the neuter singular pronoun þetta. Even though the predicate noun heiður is masculine, þetta is acting as a neutral dummy subject representing the whole situation ("This thing/situation is my credit").
How do we know to use þinn instead of another form like þitt at the end of the sentence?
Even though it stands alone, þinn ("yours") refers back to the noun heiður. Because heiður is a masculine, singular noun in the nominative case, the standalone possessive must perfectly match those grammatical features. If the implied noun had been neuter, you would have seen þitt instead.
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