Question 1

Why does minn come after bróðir instead of before it?

Accepted Answer

In Icelandic, possessive pronouns like minn (my) usually come after the noun they belong to. So instead of saying "my brother" like in English, the natural word order is bróðir minn ("brother my").

Question 2

How do I know to use minn here instead of another form of "my"?

Accepted Answer

Possessive pronouns have to match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Because bróðir (brother) is a masculine noun in the nominative (subject) case, we use the masculine nominative form of "my", which is minn.

Question 3

Why doesn't the word for brother have a definite article here, like bróðirinn minn?

Accepted Answer

Normally, you add the definite "the" ending to a noun before adding a possessive pronoun (for example, bíllinn minn for "my car"). However, close family members are an exception! Words like bróðir (brother), móðir (mother), and faðir (father) stay in their plain, indefinite form when used with words like minn.

Question 4

Since bróðir is masculine, why does the sentence start with the neuter word þetta (this)?

Accepted Answer

Whenever you are introducing someone or pointing something out using the phrase "This is...", you always use the fixed neuter pronoun þetta. You don't change it to match the gender of the specific person or thing you are introducing.

Þetta er bróðir minn.

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