Breakdown of Ég finn ekki frakkann minn.
ég
I
ekki
not
finna
to find
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
frakkinn
the coat (m)
Questions & Answers about Ég finn ekki frakkann minn.
The English translation says "can't find", but is there a word for "can" in this sentence?
No, there isn't. In Icelandic, you usually just say Ég finn ekki (literally "I find not") to express "I can't find" for something you are looking for. You don't need to add a translation for "can" here.
Why is the word order finn ekki instead of ekki finn?
In basic Icelandic sentences, the verb usually needs to be in the second position (the V2 rule). Since the subject Ég is in the first position, the verb finn comes right after it, pushing the negative word ekki to the third spot.
Why does frakkann have the "the" ending if the sentence says "my coat"?
In Icelandic, when you put a possessive pronoun like minn (my) after a noun, that noun must have the definite article (the "the" ending) attached to it. So, the structure is literally "coat-the my".
Why do we use frakkann instead of the dictionary form frakki?
The verb finna (to find) forces the object you are finding into the accusative case. Frakki is a masculine noun, and its basic accusative form is frakka. When you attach the accusative "the" ending (-nn), it becomes frakkann.
Since the coat is in the accusative case, why doesn't the possessive pronoun minn change to match it?
It actually is in the accusative case! For masculine singular words, the possessive pronoun minn happens to look exactly the same in both the nominative (subject) and accusative (object) cases. It is successfully agreeing with the masculine, accusative noun frakkann, even though the spelling didn't change.
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