honum

honum

"Honom" is the dative form of "he" or "him" in English

The verb phrase 'kemur á óvart' necessitates the dative case, therefore 'honum' is used.

Það kemur honum á óvart.

That surprises him.

Here, 'honum' is the dative case of 'hann' (he), used as the indirect object receiving the action.

Ég gaf honum bók.

I gave him a book.

'Honum' would replace 'hann' when 'við' requires dative case, after certain prepositions or governing words, but is not applied here; this shows direct example of how case dictates its form.

Ég hringdi í hann en talaði við hann síðar.

I called him but talked to him later.