Question 1

Why is "my" written as minn here?

Accepted Answer

Minn is the masculine, singular, accusative form of the word for "my". It has to match the noun it describes, which is passann (the passport). Since the passport is masculine and in the accusative case here, the possessive pronoun must also be in its accusative form, minn.

Question 2

Why is the passport in the accusative case?

Accepted Answer

The verb passa (to look after) forces the object receiving the action to be in the accusative case. Since you are looking after the passport, the word for passport takes the accusative form. This is exactly what forces the pronoun into the accusative minn.

Question 3

Why does the sentence say passann minn ("the passport my") instead of just "passport my"?

Accepted Answer

In Icelandic, when you put a possessive pronoun like minn directly after a noun, that noun almost always needs the definite article ("the") attached to the end of it. So passi (passport) becomes passann (the passport) before you can add minn.

Question 4

The translation says "Are you going to", but doesn't ætla mean "to intend"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it literally translates as "Do you intend to look after". However, using ætla að followed by an action is the most common way to express the future tense in Icelandic. It translates perfectly to the English phrase "going to".

Question 5

Are passa and passann the same word?

Accepted Answer

They look and sound very similar, but they have completely different roles in this sentence! Passa is a verb meaning "to look after" or "to watch". Passann is the noun passi (passport) with the definite article "-nn" attached to the end.

Ætlar þú að passa passann minn?

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