Breakdown of Maðurinn þrífur rakvélina sína varlega.
maðurinn
the man
þrífa
to clean
varlega
carefully
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
rakvélin
the razor
Questions & Answers about Maðurinn þrífur rakvélina sína varlega.
Why does the sentence use sína instead of hans for 'his'?
We use the reflexive pronoun sinn (which becomes sína here) when the subject of the sentence owns the object. Since the man is cleaning his own razor, we use a form of sinn. If he were cleaning another man's razor, we would use hans.
Why is the exact form sína used here?
The pronoun must match the noun it belongs to. Rakvél (razor) is a feminine noun. Because it is the object being cleaned, it is in the accusative case. The feminine, singular, accusative form of sinn is sína.
Why does rakvélina have the 'the' ending when it is already followed by 'his'?
In English, we just say 'his razor'. But in Icelandic, you almost always add the definite article ('the' ending) to a noun when using a possessive pronoun like sinn right after it. You are literally saying 'razor-the his'.
Does the verb þrífa (to clean) cause rakvélina to change its ending?
Yes! The verb þrífa makes the object receiving the action take the accusative case. For the feminine noun rakvél, the definite accusative form is rakvélina, rather than the subject form rakvélin.
What words make up rakvélina?
It is a compound word. Rak comes from the verb raka (to shave), and vél means machine. So a rakvél is a 'shaving machine' (razor). The -ina at the end is the definite article 'the' in the accusative case.
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