Breakdown of Nytjahluturinn er í söfnunargámnum.
vera
to be
í
in
nytjahluturinn
the reusable item
söfnunargámurinn
the collection container
Questions & Answers about Nytjahluturinn er í söfnunargámnum.
Why is the attached to the end of the nouns instead of being a separate word?
In Icelandic, the definite article is usually a suffix attached to the noun, not a separate word like English the.
So here:
- nytjahluturinn = the useful item / the utility item
- söfnunargámnum = the collection container
A very common pattern is:
- nytjahlutur = an item
- nytjahluturinn = the item
and
- söfnunargámur = a collection container
- söfnunargámurinn / söfnunargámnum = the collection container, with the ending changing for case
So English uses a separate article, but Icelandic often builds it into the noun itself.
What does -inn mean in nytjahluturinn?
-inn is the definite article ending here, meaning the.
The base noun is:
- nytjahlutur = a useful item / utility item
With the article added:
- nytjahluturinn = the useful item
This noun is the subject of the sentence, so it appears in the nominative singular definite form.
Why does söfnunargámnum end in -num?