Breakdown of Hún borgar helminginn af leigunni okkar.
hún
she
borga
to pay
af
of (in quantity expressions)
okkar
our
Questions & Answers about Hún borgar helminginn af leigunni okkar.
Why does the word for our (okkar) come after the noun, and does its ending change?
In Icelandic, possessive words like okkar (our) usually come immediately after the noun. Because okkar is actually the genitive (possessive) form of the pronoun við (we), it is 'frozen' in this form. It never changes its spelling to match the noun's gender, number, or case.
Why is it leigunni (the rent) instead of just leigu (rent)? Doesn't okkar already make it specific?
Even though 'our' makes it specific in English, Icelandic normally requires the noun to have the attached definite article when you use a possessive pronoun after it. So you literally say 'the rent our' (leigunni okkar).
Why is the word for rent in the dative case here (leigunni)?
The preposition af (of/from) always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. The base word is leiga (rent), which becomes leigu in the dative, and adding the attached definite article makes it leigunni.
What form is helminginn (the half) in?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb borgar (pays). The base masculine noun helmingur (half) drops its -ur ending in the accusative to become helming, and then the definite article -inn is attached to mean 'the half'.