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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin? - Is reuse better than landfilling?

Hardcore Icelandic
/Sorting household waste at a recycling site
/Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

Is reuse better than landfilling?

Breakdown of Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

Questions & Answers about Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

Why does the sentence start with Er?

Because this is a yes/no question. In Icelandic, yes/no questions are usually made by putting the finite verb first.

Statement: Endurnotkunin er betri en urðunin.
Question: Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

So this is the same kind of change as English Recycling is better... → Is recycling better...?

What is the basic non-question version of this sentence?

The normal statement word order is:

Endurnotkunin er betri en urðunin.

That literally corresponds to Recycling is better than landfilling.

So the question just moves er to the front.

Why do endurnotkunin and urðunin end in -in?

That -in is the definite article attached to the end of the noun. Icelandic usually puts the onto the noun itself instead of using a separate word.

endurnotkun = recycling
endurnotkunin = the recycling
urðun = landfilling / landfill disposal
urðunin = the landfilling

So Icelandic does not need a separate word like English the here.

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Why are the nouns definite here, even though English often just says recycling and landfilling without the?

Because Icelandic often uses the definite form with abstract ideas, processes, or categories in places where English prefers no article at all.

So although English says:

Is recycling better than landfilling?

Icelandic can very naturally say:

Er endurnotkunin betri en urðunin?

In other words, do not expect the Icelandic definite article to map perfectly onto English the every time.

What does betri mean, and why is it not betur?

Betri is the comparative form of góður:

góður = good
betri = better

This is irregular, just like English good → better.

It is not betur, because betur is usually the adverb better, as in:

Hún syngur betur. = She sings better.

Here we need an adjective describing endurnotkunin, so betri is correct.

Does betri agree with anything in the sentence?

Yes. With the verb vera (to be), the adjective agrees with the subject.

The subject here is endurnotkunin, which is feminine singular, so betri is the correct form.

That agreement is not very obvious to an English speaker, because English adjectives do not change. In Icelandic, they do.

What does en mean here?

Here en means than.

So:

betri en urðunin = better than landfilling

This is the normal word used after a comparative adjective in Icelandic.

What case are endurnotkunin and urðunin in?

In this sentence, both are in the nominative singular.

endurnotkunin is the subject
urðunin appears in the comparison phrase after en

For a learner, the important thing is that these are the basic dictionary forms of the nouns, with the definite ending added.

How are the long nouns built up?

They are both formed in a very Icelandic way:

endur-notkun-in
- endur- = again / re-
- notkun = use
- -in = the
  So the whole word means the re-use / the recycling.
urðun-in
- urðun = burial / landfill disposal
- -in = the
  So the whole word means the landfilling.

This kind of compounding is extremely common in Icelandic.

What gender are these nouns?

Both endurnotkun and urðun are feminine nouns.

That is one reason you see the definite ending -in here in the nominative singular. It also helps explain the adjective agreement in the sentence.

A useful pattern to notice is that many abstract nouns ending in -un are feminine.

How do you pronounce the letter ð in urðunin?

The letter ð is pronounced somewhat like the th in this.

So in urðunin, that sound is a voiced th sound, not a d sound.

A few helpful pronunciation points:

Icelandic stress is usually on the first syllable.
ð never appears at the beginning of a word.
For an English speaker, using a soft th as in this is a very good approximation.

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