Learn Icelandic: Hann hefur týnt lyklinum sínum.

Hann hefur týnt lyklinum sínum.

He has lost his key.

Breakdown of Hann hefur týnt lyklinum sínum.

his/her/their own (sinn, sína, sitt)

Questions & Answers about Hann hefur týnt lyklinum sínum.

How do we form the supine týnt from the infinitive týna?

Týna (to lose) is a Group 2 weak verb. To make the supine (the form used after hafa to mean you have done something), you take the stem týn- and add -t. That is why it becomes týnt.

Why is the object lyklinum in the dative case?

In Icelandic, some verbs force the noun that follows them into a specific case. The verb týna dictates that the thing being lost must always be in the dative case.

The dictionary word for key is lykill. Why does the spelling change to lykl- here?

Lykill is a masculine noun ending in -ill. Whenever we add an ending that starts with a vowel, like the dative article -inum, we drop that second i so it is easier to pronounce. It becomes lyklinum instead of lykillinum.

Why use sínum for his instead of hans?

Because he lost his own key. When the owner is the subject of the sentence, Icelandic uses the reflexive word sinn (which changes to sínum to match the dative masculine lyklinum). If you used hans, it would mean he lost some other man's key.