Breakdown of Afi minn byggði þetta hús.
þetta
this
húsið
the house
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
afinn
the grandfather
Questions & Answers about Afi minn byggði þetta hús.
How does the past tense ending in byggði work?
The dictionary form of the verb is byggja (to build). To make it past tense, we drop the -ja and add a suffix. Because the stem ends in a voiced consonant (g), it takes the -ði ending for the third-person singular (he/she/it). This is a common pattern for verbs in this group!
Why does it say afi minn instead of minn afi?
In Icelandic, possessive words like minn (my) almost always go right after the noun, not before it like in English. You are literally saying grandfather my.
Why do we use þetta to mean this instead of þessi?
Demonstrative words change to match the gender of the noun they attach to. Because hús is a neuter noun, we must use the neuter form þetta. If the word were masculine or feminine, you would use þessi.
Since the house is the object being built, shouldn't hús change its ending for the accusative case?
It is actually in the accusative case here! Hús is a neuter noun, and a very helpful rule in Icelandic is that all neuter nouns look exactly the same in the nominative (subject) and accusative (direct object) cases.