Sekkjatrillan er í flutningabílnum.

to be

Breakdown of Sekkjatrillan er í flutningabílnum.

• í: in
• flutningabíllinn: the moving truck
• sekkjatrillan: the hand truck

Questions & Answers about Sekkjatrillan er í flutningabílnum.

Why does sekkjatrillan end in -an?

Because the noun is definite: it means the sack trolley / the hand truck, not just a sack trolley.

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

So:

• sekkjatrilla = a sack trolley / hand truck
• sekkjatrillan = the sack trolley / hand truck

Here, -an is the definite ending for this feminine noun in the nominative singular.

Why does flutningabílnum end in -num?

That ending shows two things at once:

1. the noun is definite = the moving truck / transport truck
2. it is in the dative singular

So:

• flutningabíll = a moving truck / transport truck
• flutningabílnum = in the moving truck / transport truck (literally, the moving truck in dative)

The reason it is dative is the preposition í, which often takes the dative when it means in in the sense of location.

Why is í followed by the dative here?