Apposition Agrees in Case

Level 5

Ég talaði við Jón, bróður þinn. (I talked to Jón, your brother.) við takes the accusative, so both Jón and bróður þinn are accusative.

How It Works

All four cases.

  • Nominative: Jón, bróðir þinn, hringdi áðan.
  • Accusative: Ég talaði við Jón, bróður þinn.
  • Dative: Ég fékk bréf frá Ólafi, vini mínum.
  • Genitive: Þetta er bíll Önnu, systur minnar.

Titles and jobs. A title after a name follows the same rule: Ég sendi póst til Guðrúnar, kennarans míns (I sent an email to Guðrún, my teacher). Both parts are genitive after til.

Without a comma. A name and a noun can also stand close together: Jón bróðir minn, við Íslendingar. They agree in the same way: með Jóni bróður mínum, Okkur Íslendingum finnst gaman að fara í sund. The spoken pattern hann Jón works like this too: Ég hitti hana Önnu.

Why it is easy to slip. The second part is often far from the verb, and it is tempting to fall back to the nominative. Look at the first noun and copy its case. The possessive changes too: minn, minn, mínum, míns.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég talaði við Jón, bróður þinn, í gær.

    I talked to Jón, your brother, yesterday.

    Word by Word: I talked with Jón, brother your, in yesterday.

  2. Þetta er bíll Önnu, systur minnar.

    This is the car of Anna, my sister.

    Word by Word: This is car Anna's, sister's my.

  3. Ég fékk bréf frá Ólafi, vini mínum.

    I got a letter from Ólafur, my friend.

    Word by Word: I got letter from Ólafur, friend my.

  4. Jón, bróðir þinn, hringdi áðan.

    Jón, your brother, called earlier.

    Word by Word: Jón, brother your, called earlier.

  5. Ég fór í bíó með Siggu, vinkonu minni.

    I went to the cinema with Sigga, my friend.

    Word by Word: I went in cinema with Sigga, friend my.

    með takes the dative here, so both Siggu and vinkonu minni are dative.

  6. Okkur Íslendingum finnst gaman að fara í sund.

    We Icelanders love going swimming.

    Word by Word: Us Icelanders finds fun to go in swimming.

    finnast takes a dative, so okkur and Íslendingum are both dative.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the explaining noun in the nominative.

    Ég talaði við Jón, bróðir þinn.
    Ég talaði við Jón, bróður þinn.

    bróður þinn explains Jón, which is accusative after við, so it is accusative too.

  • Forgetting the dative in the second part.

    Ég fékk bréf frá Ólafi, vinur minn.
    Ég fékk bréf frá Ólafi, vini mínum.

    frá takes the dative. Ólafi is dative, so vini mínum must be dative as well.

  • Forgetting the genitive in the second part.

    Þetta er bíll Önnu, systir mín.
    Þetta er bíll Önnu, systur minnar.

    Önnu is the genitive owner, so the words that explain her are genitive too: systur minnar.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Apposition Agrees in CaseLevel 5

Learn This First

Apposition builds on hann Jón and minn in all cases.