Breakdown of Við tölum um skjáinn hennar.
við
we
tala
to speak
um
about
hennar
her / hers (genitive)
skjárinn
the monitor
Questions & Answers about Við tölum um skjáinn hennar.
Why do we use hennar here instead of the reflexive sinn?
The reflexive possessive sinn (meaning his/her/their own) is only used when the owner is the third-person subject of the sentence (he, she, or they). Here, the subject is við (we). Since the subject is not a third-person owner, we must use the invariable hennar.
If the sentence was 'She talks about her monitor', would we still use hennar?
Why does the word for monitor have the -inn ending?
In Icelandic, when you use a third-person possessive word like hennar, hans, or þeirra, the noun before it almost always takes the attached definite article (the). The base noun is skjár, and with the article it becomes skjáinn. So skjáinn hennar literally translates to 'the monitor her'.
What case is skjáinn in, and why?
It is in the accusative case because of the preposition um (about), which always forces the following noun into the accusative. The masculine word skjár drops its -r in the accusative, becoming skjá, and then the accusative definite article is added to make skjáinn.
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