Breakdown of Kennarinn krafði nemandann um svar.
Questions & Answers about Kennarinn krafði nemandann um svar.
The ending -inn is the definite article attached to the noun.
- kennari = teacher
- kennarinn = the teacher
In Icelandic, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of written as a separate word like English the.
So Kennarinn means the teacher, not just teacher.
Because nemandann is in the accusative case, while nemandinn would be nominative.
Here:
- kennarinn is the subject of the sentence, so it is nominative.
- nemandann is the person being demanded from / addressed by the action, so it appears in the accusative after krefja.
Compare:
- nemandinn = the student (nominative)
- nemandann = the student (accusative)
This is very common in Icelandic: the form of the noun changes depending on its role in the sentence.