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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Burðarólin er sterk. - The carrying strap is strong.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Helping friends move to a new home
/Burðarólin er sterk.

Burðarólin er sterk.

Word

Burðarólin er sterk.

Meaning

The carrying strap is strong.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Icelandic

Lesson

Helping friends move to a new home

Breakdown of Burðarólin er sterk.

the carrying strap

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Questions & Answers about Burðarólin er sterk.

What is the base form of burðarólin, and what does the ending -in mean?

The base form is burðaról. The ending -in is the suffixed definite article, so it makes the noun definite: the carrying strap.

Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word the way English does.

burðaról = carrying strap
burðarólin = the carrying strap

Why is there a burðar- at the beginning of the noun?

Burðaról is a compound noun.

burður means carrying / transport
ól means strap

In compounds, the first part often appears in a linking form, very often related to the genitive. So burðar- is the compound form that gives the sense of carrying- or for carrying.

So the whole word literally means something like carrying-strap.

What gender is burðaról?

It is feminine.

That matters because adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. In this sentence, that is why the adjective appears as sterk.

Why is it sterk and not sterkur or sterkt?

Because the adjective has to agree with burðarólin.

Here, the noun is:

feminine
singular
nominative

So the adjective also takes the feminine singular nominative form:

masculine: sterkur
feminine: sterk
neuter: sterkt

That is why Burðarólin er sterk is correct.

What does er mean here?

Er is the present-tense singular form of vera, the verb to be.

So here it works just like English is:

er = is

It links the subject burðarólin with the description sterk.

What case is burðarólin in?

It is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

The adjective sterk also matches it in the nominative. After vera with this kind of simple description, Icelandic normally uses a predicate adjective that agrees with the subject.

So structurally this is:

subject: Burðarólin
verb: er
predicate adjective: sterk

Is this sentence singular or plural?

It is singular.

You can tell because:

burðarólin is singular
the verb is er rather than eru
the adjective is singular sterk

If the noun were plural, the verb and adjective would also change to plural forms.

What is the normal word order here, and how would I turn it into a question?

The normal word order here is:

subject + verb + adjective

So:

Burðarólin er sterk.

To make it a yes/no question, Icelandic usually puts the verb first:

Er burðarólin sterk?

That means Is the carrying strap strong?

How do I pronounce Burðarólin er sterk?

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

BUR-thar-oh-lin er sterk

A few useful pronunciation notes:

Stress usually falls on the first syllable of each word.
ð is like the th in this.
r is typically tapped or rolled, not the English-style r.
ó is a long o sound.

So the strongest beats are on BURðarólin and STERK.

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