Breakdown of Mágur minn hefur hitt hálfbróður þinn.
hitta
to meet
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
hafa
to have
mágurinn
the brother-in-law
hálfbróðirinn
the half-brother
Questions & Answers about Mágur minn hefur hitt hálfbróður þinn.
Why is there no '-inn' at the end of Mágur (like Mágurinn minn)?
For most nouns in Icelandic, you add the definite suffix before a possessive word, like bíllinn minn (my car). However, kinship terms are a major exception. You use the bare noun followed by the possessive pronoun, which is why it is mágur minn.
Why does the word for brother change from hálfbróðir to hálfbróður?
The verb hitta (to meet) forces the object (the person you are meeting) into the accusative case. The word bróðir is irregular, and its accusative form is bróður. This applies to compound words like hálfbróður too.
If hálfbróður is in the accusative case, why didn't þinn change?
It actually is in the accusative case! A possessive pronoun must agree with its noun's gender, number, and case. For a masculine singular word, the nominative form þinn and the accusative form þinn happen to be exactly the same.
What form of the verb hitta is hitt here?
It is the supine form (sagnbót). It is used together with the helping verb hafa (has/have) to create the present perfect tense. Just like in English, hefur hitt translates directly to 'has met'.
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