minn
The Old Norse word for 'my' is minn.
minn is a possessive determiner used to indicate that something belongs to the speaker.
Meaning: belonging to me (det)
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of 'my' must agree in gender, number and case with the noun it modifies. In the singular nominative, you must choose between three forms based on the grammatical gender of the noun being possessed: use minn for masculine nouns, mín for feminine nouns and mitt for neuter nouns.
Did you know?
- In Old Norse poetry, specifically the skaldic tradition, the word minn could be placed far away from the noun it modifies due to highly flexible word order.
- The word minn is a direct ancestor to the modern Icelandic word minn, meaning the grammatical system for 'my' has remained remarkably stable in Iceland for over a millennium.
- The Old Norse minn is a cognate of the English word 'mine', though 'mine' evolved from a different Germanic case system into a possessive pronoun.
Examples in context
- Guð minn, guð minn, hví fyrlætr þú mik?My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?This sentence shows how minn is used in a religious context.Tatoeba #10522780 by Abcormal, translation #390011 by Scott
- Minn vinr á góðan hest.My friend has a good horse.
- Mín systir heitir Freyja.My sister is called Freyja.
- Mín dóttir er fríð.My daughter is beautiful.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Erik and Helga are looking for a missing item.
- ErikHvar er hringr minn?Where is my ring?
- HelgaEk sá hann á borðinu.I saw it on the table.
- ErikÞat er eigi hringr minn.That is not my ring.
- HelgaSjá, hér er hann!Look, here it is!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
