Breakdown of Bílstjórinn keyrir með bilað dekk á bílnum sínum.
bíllinn
the car
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
keyra
to drive
með
with
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
bílstjórinn
the driver
dekkið
the tire
bilaður
broken
Questions & Answers about Bílstjórinn keyrir með bilað dekk á bílnum sínum.
Why do we use sínum instead of hans for "his"?
Sínum is a reflexive possessive pronoun, meaning it refers back to the subject of the sentence. We use it here to show that the car belongs to the driver (Bílstjórinn). If you used hans, it would mean the driver has a broken tire on some other man's car!
Why is sínum in the dative case here?
Possessive pronouns must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Here, it describes bílnum (the car). The preposition á forces the following noun into the dative case when talking about a static location (where the tire is). Because bíll is masculine and in the dative case, the pronoun becomes sínum.
Why does the car have the definite ending (bílnum) if we are already saying "his"?
In English, you just say "his car". However, in Icelandic, it is the standard rule to keep the definite article attached to the noun when it is followed by a possessive pronoun. It literally translates to "the car his own".
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