Breakdown of Hún ætlar að giftast kærastanum sínum.
hún
she
ætla
to intend
kærastinn
the boyfriend
sinn
his/her/their own (reflexive possessive)
Questions & Answers about Hún ætlar að giftast kærastanum sínum.
Why does the verb end in -st (giftast), and why is the boyfriend in the dative case?
The -st ending indicates the middle voice. The active verb gifta means to marry someone off or to perform a marriage ceremony, like a priest does. When you are getting married yourself, you use giftast. This verb requires its object to be in the dative case, which is why the boyfriend is in the dative.
Why do we use the reflexive possessive sínum instead of hennar for 'her'?
Why is the definite article attached to kærastanum when there is a possessive pronoun right after it?
Unlike English, Icelandic usually requires the definite article on the noun when it is followed by a possessive pronoun. So the structure is literally 'boyfriend-the her-own'. That is why the dative article -num is attached to the noun before the pronoun.
Why is the possessive pronoun in the form sínum?
Possessive pronouns must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Since kærastanum is a masculine, singular noun in the dative case, the base pronoun sinn must take its masculine singular dative form, which is sínum.