Icelandic has no separate word for "the." Instead, the definite article is glued onto the end of the noun as a suffix: borð ("a table") becomes borðið ("the table"). This page lays out the complete suffixed-article paradigm for neuter nouns (kynhlutlaus, "hk") — all four cases in both numbers — using the regular strong noun borð and the irregular weak noun auga ("eye"). The single most important fact to anchor everything else: in the neuter, nominative and accusative are always identical, in the singular and in the plural, with or without the article. There is no case where a neuter subject form differs from its object form.
The neuter article suffixes
Strip away the noun and look at what the article itself contributes. For a neuter noun the suffixed endings are:
| Case | Singular suffix | Plural suffix |
|---|---|---|
| Nefnifall (nom.) | -ið | -in |
| Þolfall (acc.) | -ið | -in |
| Þágufall (dat.) | -nu | -num |
| Eignarfall (gen.) | -ins | -nna |
The article descends from the old demonstrative hinn / hin / hið ("that"), which is why every form still contains that -n-. In the neuter the singular subject and object form is the unmistakable -ið (with the eth, ð) — and that same eth reappears in the dative -inu. Memorise the eth: it is -ið and -inu, never -id or -inu with a plain d.
The full paradigm: borð ("table")
borð is a textbook strong neuter: its plural is identical to its singular without the article (borð → borð), and the article does all the visible work. Here is the complete table, indefinite ("a table") beside definite ("the table"):
| Case | Singular indefinite | Singular definite | Plural indefinite | Plural definite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nefnifall (nom.) | borð | borðið | borð | borðin |
| Þolfall (acc.) | borð | borðið | borð | borðin |
| Þágufall (dat.) | borði | borðinu | borðum | borðunum |
| Eignarfall (gen.) | borðs | borðsins | borða | borðanna |
Read the definite column top to bottom in the singular: borðið → borðið → borðinu → borðsins. The first two are identical — that is the neuter nom/acc syncretism in action.
Borðið er of lítið fyrir okkur öll.
The table is too small for all of us. 'Borðið' is the SUBJECT — nominative — but the form gives no hint of that on its own.
Geturðu fært borðið aðeins til vinstri?
Can you move the table a bit to the left? 'borðið' is now the DIRECT OBJECT — accusative — yet it is the identical word. Only the verb 'færa' tells you it is the object.
Það er kaffibolli á borðinu.
There's a coffee cup on the table. 'borðinu' is dative after the preposition 'á' (location) — note the eth in -inu.
Annar fótur borðsins er aðeins styttri en hinir.
One leg of the table is a bit shorter than the others. 'borðsins' is the genitive — the possessor of 'fótur' (leg).
In the plural the dative borðunum shows the typical neuter pattern: stem + -u- + the -num of the dative-plural article. The genitive plural borðanna ends in the doubled -nna that marks every genitive-plural definite, across all genders.
Borðin á kaffihúsinu eru öll upptekin.
The tables at the café are all taken. 'Borðin' is the definite neuter plural — same form whether subject or object.
Hún þurrkaði af öllum borðunum eftir lokun.
She wiped down all the tables after closing. 'borðunum' is dative plural — stem + -unum.
A second strong neuter: barn ("child")
barn ("child") declines exactly like borð in the article — but its plural stem rounds a → ö because of the u-umlaut (a sound rule triggered by a following u, covered fully on u-Umlaut in Plurals). So the singular keeps a and the plural switches to ö:
| Case | Singular definite | Plural definite |
|---|---|---|
| Nefnifall (nom.) | barnið | börnin |
| Þolfall (acc.) | barnið | börnin |
| Þágufall (dat.) | barninu | börnunum |
| Eignarfall (gen.) | barnsins | barnanna |
Notice the singular set barnið → barnið → barninu → barnsins keeps the a, but as soon as the plural appears the stem rounds: börnin, börnunum. The genitive plural barnanna, however, goes back to a — there is no u in that ending to trigger rounding, so the stem stays a. This is the system working precisely: börnunum rounds (the -u- triggers it) but barnanna does not.
Barnið er sofnað loksins.
The child has finally fallen asleep. 'Barnið' — singular definite, with the a kept and the eth in -ið.
Börnin í hverfinu leika sér úti á sumrin.
The kids in the neighbourhood play outside in summer. 'Börnin' — plural, stem rounded to ö.
Foreldrarnir lásu fyrir börnin á hverju kvöldi.
The parents read to the children every evening. 'börnin' is the accusative plural — identical to the nominative.
The irregular auga-type
Not every neuter is strong. A small but very common group — weak neuters ending in -a — declines differently. The model is auga ("eye"). These nouns keep -a through the entire singular and form their plural in -u:
| Case | Singular indefinite | Singular definite | Plural indefinite | Plural definite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nefnifall (nom.) | auga | augað | augu | augun |
| Þolfall (acc.) | auga | augað | augu | augun |
| Þágufall (dat.) | auga | auganu | augum | augunum |
| Eignarfall (gen.) | auga | augans | augna | augnanna |
Two things to flag. First, the singular indefinite is auga in all four cases — the bare noun never changes shape until the article is added. Second, the genitive plural is augna, not augana: the stem vowel between g and n drops out (syncope). The definite then builds on that contracted stem: augnanna.
Augað í mér er rautt og þreytt.
My eye is red and tired. 'Augað' — weak-neuter singular definite; the article is -ð, not -ið, because the stem already ends in -a.
Hann lokaði augunum og hlustaði á tónlistina.
He closed his eyes and listened to the music. 'augunum' is the dative plural definite of the auga-type.
Why nom = acc actually matters
Because a definite neuter like barnið is the same word whether it is the subject or the object, the form alone cannot tell you which it is. Competing references state the nom/acc syncretism as a paradigm fact and move on; the real consequence is about reading. When you meet barnið in a sentence, you must look to the verb and the context — not the noun — to decide whether the child is doing something or having something done to it.
Barnið sá hundinn.
The child saw the dog. 'Barnið' is the subject — 'hundinn' (acc.) is clearly the object, so 'barnið' must be the nominative subject.
Hundurinn sá barnið.
The dog saw the child. Now 'hundurinn' (nom.) is the subject, so the identical 'barnið' is the accusative object. Same word, opposite role — only the other noun's ending resolves it.
This is precisely why Icelandic, for all its free word order with masculine and feminine nouns, still leans on word order and context for neuters: the neuter noun itself stays ambiguous, and something else in the clause has to do the disambiguating.
Common Mistakes
❌ Borðid er of lítið.
Incorrect — the neuter suffix is spelled with eth: -ið, not -id with a plain d.
✅ Borðið er of lítið.
The table is too small. The eth (ð) is mandatory in -ið and -inu.
❌ Ég sé barninn.
Incorrect — inventing a distinct accusative for a neuter. The neuter accusative is identical to the nominative.
✅ Ég sé barnið.
I see the child. Neuter nom = acc, so 'barnið' is also the accusative.
❌ á borðinum
Incorrect — that's a masculine/feminine-style dative. The neuter singular dative is -inu.
✅ á borðinu
On the table. The neuter dative singular suffix is -inu (with eth).
❌ börnin á leikvellinum, gen.pl. 'börnanna'
Incorrect — the genitive plural has no -u to trigger rounding, so the stem stays a.
✅ leikföng barnanna
The children's toys. Genitive plural keeps the a: barnanna, not börnanna.
❌ augana (gen. pl. of auga)
Incorrect — the auga-type syncopates the stem vowel in the genitive plural.
✅ augna
Of the eyes. The contracted genitive plural is augna; with the article, augnanna.
Key Takeaways
- The neuter definite article is suffixed: -ið / -ið / -inu / -ins (sg.) and -in / -in / -num / -nna (pl.).
- Neuter nominative = accusative everywhere — there is no separate object form.
- Spell it with eth: -ið and -inu, never with a plain d.
- Strong model borð: borðið / borðið / borðinu / borðsins; pl. borðin / borðin / borðunum / borðanna.
- barn declines the same but its plural rounds a → ö (börnin, börnunum) except the genitive plural barnanna, which has no triggering u.
- The weak auga-type keeps -a through the singular (augað, auganu, augans) and syncopates its genitive plural to augna / augnanna.
- Because the neuter form is the same for subject and object, the verb and context, not the noun, mark the role.
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- Definite Article: Feminine ParadigmA2 — The full suffixed definite article on feminine nouns — strong borgin, borgina, borginni, borgarinnar and weak konan, konuna, konunni, konunnar — with the doubled -nn- of the dative and genitive singular that is the gender's signature spelling trap.
- Neuter Nouns: The Core Pattern (borð, land)A2 — The strong neuter declension — the most uniform gender in Icelandic, where nominative and accusative are always identical, the plural adds no ending at all, and number is often carried only by the article, adjective or verb.
- u-Umlaut in Plurals and the Dative PluralA2 — The single most pervasive sound rule in Icelandic noun inflection: a stem 'a' rounds to 'ö' before a following 'u' — most reliably in the dative-plural ending -um (dögum, löndum) and in many bare plurals (barn → börn, land → lönd).