Learn Icelandic: Þetta er hnífurinn minn.

Þetta er hnífurinn minn.

This is my knife.

Breakdown of Þetta er hnífurinn minn.

my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)

hnífurinn

the knife

Questions & Answers about Þetta er hnífurinn minn.

Hnífur is a masculine word, so why does the sentence use the neuter word þetta instead of the masculine þessi?

When you introduce something by saying 'This is...' with the verb to be, Icelandic always uses the neuter form þetta as a generic 'this', no matter the gender of the noun that follows. You only use the masculine þessi if it directly attaches to the noun, like in þessi hnífur (this knife).

Why does the sentence use hnífurinn (the knife) instead of just hnífur (knife)?

In Icelandic, when you use a possessive word like minn (my), the noun it belongs to almost always takes the definite article (the ending that means 'the'). So, you literally say 'the knife my' (hnífurinn minn).

Why is the word for 'my' minn here?

Possessive words like 'my' have to match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Because hnífur (knife) is a masculine, singular noun in the nominative case, we use the matching masculine form minn.