Questions & Answers about Hann rakar alltaf skeggið.
The translation says 'his beard', so why isn't there a word for 'his' or a reflexive pronoun like sig?
In Icelandic, when you do something to your own body, you usually just use the 'the' form of the noun instead of saying 'my' or 'his'. So skeggið literally means 'the beard'. Also, because he is shaving a specific thing (the beard), you don't use sig (himself). It is simply understood that it is his own beard.
How would I say 'He always shaves' if I don't mention the beard?
That is when you need the reflexive pronoun sig! If you don't mention a specific body part, the verb needs an object, so you use the reflexive pronoun to say Hann rakar sig alltaf (He always shaves himself).
Why does alltaf (always) come after the verb? In English we say 'always shaves'.
Icelandic relies on the 'verb-second' rule for normal statements. The verb rakar (shaves) has to be the second piece of information in the sentence, right after the subject Hann. Adverbs like alltaf generally come right after the verb.
What is the grammar behind the word skeggið here?
It is the direct object of the sentence, which means it is in the accusative case. The base word is skegg (beard), which is a neuter noun. To say 'the beard', you add the definite article ending -ið. For neuter nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the dictionary form!