Learning pronouns in Icelandic, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Iceland, is essential for mastering both spoken and written communication. Icelandic pronouns are characterized by their forms according to person, number, gender, and case. This guide covers personal, possessive, demonstrative, reflexive, and interrogative pronouns, providing detailed explanations and examples for each.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns in Icelandic replace nouns referring to people or things and change based on their function in a sentence (subject, object, possessive).

Subject Pronouns:

• Ég (I): “Ég fer.” – I am going.
• Þú (You – singular, informal): “Þú kemur.” – You come.
• Hann/Hún/Það (He/She/It): “Hann/hún/það les.” – He/She/It reads.
• Við (We): “Við vinnum.” – We work.
• Þið (You – plural): “Þið spilið.” – You (plural) play.
• Þeir/Þær/Þau (They – masculine/feminine/neuter): “Þeir/þær/þau hlaupa.” – They run.

Object Pronouns:

Object pronouns often follow the verb and can change based on case (accusative, dative, genitive).

• Mig (Me – accusative): “Hann sá mig.” – He saw me.
• Þig (You – singular, informal, accusative): “Ég elska þig.” – I love you.
• Hann/Hana/Það (Him/Her/It – accusative): “Ég kallaði hann/hana.” – I called him/her.
• Okkur (Us – accusative): “Þeir bjóða okkur.” – They invite us.
• Ykkur (You – plural, accusative): “Hún þekkir ykkur.” – She knows you.
• Þá/Þær/Þau (Them – masculine/feminine/neuter, accusative): “Við sáum þá/þær/þau.” – We saw them.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns in Icelandic indicate ownership and agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify.

• Minn/Mín/Mitt (My – masculine/feminine/neuter): “Hundurinn minn.” – My dog.
• Þinn/Þín/Þitt (Your – singular, informal, m/f/n): “Bíllinn þinn.” – Your car.
• Hans/Hennar/Þess (His/Hers/Its): “Húsið hans.” – His house.
• Okkar (Our): “Fjölskyldan okkar.” – Our family.
• Ykkar (Your – plural): “Vinir ykkar.” – Your friends.
• Þeirra (Their): “Börnin þeirra.” – Their children.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Icelandic point to specific nouns and vary based on distance and visibility.

• Þessi (This – m/f/n): “Þessi bók.” – This book.
• Sá/Sú/Það (That – m/f/n): “Sá bíll.” – That car.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns in Icelandic are used when the subject performs an action upon itself.

• Mig (Myself): “Ég klæði mig.” – I dress myself.
• Þig (Yourself): “Þú vaskar þig.” – You wash yourself.
• Sig (Himself/Herself/Itself/Themselves): “Hann vaskar sig.” – He washes himself.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about people, places, or things.

• Hver (Who): “Hver er það?” – Who is that?
• Hvað (What): “Hvað viltu?” – What do you want?
• Hvaða (Which): “Hvaða bók lestu?” – Which book are you reading?
• Hvar (Where): “Hvar býrðu?” – Where do you live?

Understanding and correctly using Icelandic pronouns is vital for effective communication. Practice forming sentences with each type of pronoun, and try to engage in conversations or writing exercises to apply these concepts actively. Remember, the context, number, gender, and case are crucial in choosing the correct pronoun form in Icelandic.