Breakdown of Finnur hann lykilinn í skottinu sínu?
hann
he
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
finna
to find
lykillinn
the key
sinn
his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)
skottið
the trunk
Questions & Answers about Finnur hann lykilinn í skottinu sínu?
Why does this sentence use sínu instead of hans for "his"?
Because sínu is a reflexive possessive pronoun. It points back to the subject of the sentence, hann (he). If we used hans, it would mean he is looking in someone else's trunk. By using sínu, we know it is his own trunk.
Why is sínu in the dative case here?
It has to match the case, gender, and number of the noun it belongs to (skottinu). Skottinu is in the dative case because the preposition í (in) takes the dative when talking about a stationary location. Since skott is a neuter noun in the dative singular, the pronoun sinn becomes sínu.
Why does skottinu have the definite article attached if the possessive sínu is already there?
In Icelandic, when a possessive pronoun comes after a noun, the noun almost always takes the definite suffix. So literally, the sentence translates as in the-trunk his-own (í skott-inu sínu).
Why is the word for "the key" (lykilinn) in the accusative case?
Because it is the direct object of the verb finna (to find). It is the thing being found. For the masculine noun lykill, the accusative form with the definite article attached is lykilinn.
Why does the sentence start with the verb Finnur?
To ask a yes/no question in Icelandic, you simply swap the subject and the verb. There is no helper verb like "does" or "do" in English. So instead of "Does he find", you just say "Finds he" (Finnur hann).
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