Breakdown of Hundurinn minn situr á gólfinu.
hundurinn
the dog
sitja
to sit
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
gólfið
the floor
Questions & Answers about Hundurinn minn situr á gólfinu.
Why is the word for the floor written as gólfinu instead of gólfið?
The preposition á (on) makes the noun take the dative case when describing a stationary position, like sitting still. The base word is the neuter noun gólf. To say 'the floor' in the dative case, we add the definite dative ending -inu, making it gólfinu.
Does the preposition á always force the noun into the dative case?
Not always! When á describes a static location (where something is right now), it uses the dative case. If it were describing movement onto something, it would use the accusative case instead.
Why is it Hundurinn minn instead of minn hundur?
In Icelandic, the most natural way to say 'my dog' is to put the possessive word (minn) after the noun. When you do this, the noun must have the definite article attached to it. So 'my dog' translates literally as 'the dog my' (Hundurinn minn).
Why are Hundurinn and minn in the nominative case?
The dog is the subject of the sentence, which means it is the one doing the action (sitting). Subjects always take the nominative case. The word minn (my) simply copies the gender, number, and case of the noun it belongs to, so it takes the masculine singular nominative form.
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