Breakdown of Bróðir þinn er veikur.
vera
to be
veikur
sick
bróðirinn
the brother
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
Questions & Answers about Bróðir þinn er veikur.
Why does the word for "your" come after "brother"?
In Icelandic, possessive pronouns like þinn usually come right after the noun they belong to, rather than before it. So the sentence literally translates to "Brother your is sick."
Why do we use þinn here instead of þín or þitt?
Possessive pronouns have to match the gender of the noun they own. Since bróðir (brother) is a masculine word, you use the masculine form þinn.
I learned that nouns often need a "the" ending before a possessive word. Why isn't it bróðirinn þinn?
Close family members are a special exception! Words like bróðir (brother), móðir (mother), and faðir (father) usually do not take the definite article (the "the" ending) when used with possessive pronouns like minn and þinn.
Why does the word for sick (veikur) end in -ur?
Just like the possessive pronoun, adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. Because bróðir is masculine, the adjective takes the masculine ending -ur.
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