Breakdown of Stefnuljósið og ljósabúnaðurinn virka.
og
and
virka
to work
stefnuljósið
the indicator light; turn signal
ljósabúnaðurinn
the lighting equipment
Questions & Answers about Stefnuljósið og ljósabúnaðurinn virka.
Why do the two nouns end differently: -ið in stefnuljósið but -inn in ljósabúnaðurinn?
Those endings are the definite article attached to the noun, and the form changes depending on gender, number, and case.
- stefnuljós is a neuter noun, so the turn signal / the indicator becomes stefnuljósið
- ljósabúnaður is a masculine noun, so the lighting equipment becomes ljósabúnaðurinn
So both words are definite, but they take different article endings because they belong to different grammatical genders.
Does Icelandic usually attach the to the noun instead of using a separate word?
Yes. In ordinary Icelandic, the definite article is very often attached to the end of the noun.
So instead of a separate word like English the, Icelandic commonly has:
- stefnuljós = turn signal / indicator
stefnuljósið = the turn signal / indicator
- ljósabúnaður = lighting equipment
- ljósabúnaðurinn = the lighting equipment
There are separate article forms such as hinn / hin / hið, but they are not the normal everyday choice in a sentence like this.
Why is the verb virka plural when each noun looks singular?