Questions & Answers about Hringurinn hennar er nýr.
Why does the word for ring have the definite article (-inn) if it belongs to someone?
In Icelandic, when you use a possessive pronoun like hennar (her), the noun before it almost always has the definite article (the "the" ending) attached. So instead of just saying ring her, you literally say the ring her (hringurinn hennar).
Is it wrong to put the possessive word first and say hennar hringurinn?
Usually, yes. The standard word order in Icelandic is to put the possessive word after the noun. You would only put hennar before the noun if you were adding very strong emphasis, like clarifying that it is HER ring, not his.
Does hennar change depending on the gender of the object she owns?
No, it does not! While many words in Icelandic change to match the noun they describe, hennar (her), hans (his), and þeirra (their) are strictly fixed. This means hennar will always stay exactly like this, no matter if she owns a masculine, feminine, or neuter thing.
Why does the word for new end in -r (nýr)?
Adjectives in Icelandic have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because hringur (ring) is a masculine noun, the adjective takes the masculine singular ending, making it nýr instead of ný (feminine) or nýtt (neuter).