Breakdown of Konan kaupir kremið sitt hérna.
konan
the woman
kaupa
to buy
hérna
here (colloquial, pointing)
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
kremið
the cream
Questions & Answers about Konan kaupir kremið sitt hérna.
Why do we use sitt here instead of hennar for "her"?
Because the woman is the subject of the sentence and she is buying her own cream. In Icelandic, you must use a form of the reflexive pronoun sinn to show that the object belongs to the subject. If you used hennar, it would mean she is buying some other woman's cream.
Why is the pronoun in the form sitt?
The pronoun sinn has to match the gender, number, and case of the noun it owns. The word krem (cream) is a neuter noun. Because it is the direct object being bought, it is in the accusative case. The neuter, singular, accusative form of sinn is sitt.
Why does kremið have a definite ending (-ið) if we are already saying "her cream"?
Unlike English, Icelandic usually keeps the definite ending (the "the" part attached to the end of the word) even when you add a possessive pronoun. So literally, the sentence says "The woman buys the cream her own".
Could I say hér instead of hérna?
Yes, both mean "here" and are used for a stationary location. Hérna is slightly softer and very common in everyday spoken Icelandic, while hér can sometimes sound a tiny bit more formal or direct. They are completely interchangeable in this sentence.
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