Learn Icelandic: Kennarinn fær sér kaffi úti. - The teacher has coffee outside.

Kennarinn fær sér kaffi úti.

The teacher has coffee outside.

Breakdown of Kennarinn fær sér kaffi úti.

Questions & Answers about Kennarinn fær sér kaffi úti.

Why do we use sér instead of sig here?

sér is the dative form of the reflexive pronoun. We use it here because the teacher is getting the coffee for themselves. The phrase að fá sér (to get or have for oneself) always uses the dative form for the pronoun.

Does sér mean "himself" or "herself" in this sentence?

It could be either! The third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér, sín) are exactly the same for all genders (he, she, it) and even for the plural (they). Since kennarinn just means "the teacher," sér naturally covers whoever the teacher is.

Can I just say "Kennarinn fær kaffi" without sér?

You could, but it sounds a bit different. The verb að fá on its own simply means "to receive" or "to get." Adding the reflexive pronoun to make að fá sér is a very common everyday idiom that specifically means "having" or "getting oneself" something to eat or drink.

I remember that kennari means "teacher." Why does it end in -nn here?

This is a quick reminder about how "the" works in Icelandic. The definite article (the word for "the") is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word. So, kennari (a teacher) becomes kennarinn (the teacher).