Lögreglan rannsakar glæpinn.

The police investigate the crime.

Breakdown of Lögreglan rannsakar glæpinn.

• lögreglan: the police
• rannsaka: to investigate
• glæpurinn: the crime

Questions & Answers about Lögreglan rannsakar glæpinn.

Why do lögreglan and glæpinn both have endings that seem to mean the?

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

So:

• lögregla = police
• lögreglan = the police

and

• glæpur = crime
• glæpinn = the crime

This is very common in Icelandic. The exact form of the ending changes depending on the noun’s gender, number, and case.

Is lögreglan singular or plural? In English, the police is usually plural.

In this sentence, lögreglan is grammatically singular in Icelandic.

That is why the verb is also singular:

• lögreglan rannsakar = the police investigates / is investigating

Even though English usually treats police as plural, Icelandic lögregla is often used as a singular collective noun, more like the police force.

So the grammar is Icelandic, not English:

• singular subject
• singular verb

Why is the verb rannsakar?