Hann tekur penna.

He takes a pen.

Breakdown of Hann tekur penna.

• hann: he
• penni: the pen
• taka: to take

Questions & Answers about Hann tekur penna.

What does Hann tekur penna mean in English?

It means He takes a pen. Hann translates as he, tekur is the present tense third-person singular form of to take, and penna is the accusative form of the noun pen.

Why is the noun written as penna instead of penni?

In Icelandic, nouns change form depending on their grammatical case. In this sentence, penna is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb tekur. The base, or nominative, form is penni, which changes to penna when used as an object.

How is the verb að taka (to take) conjugated in this sentence?

The verb að taka means to take. In the sentence, it appears as tekur—the present tense, third-person singular conjugation—matching the subject hann (he).

Why isn’t there an additional word equivalent to the English “a” before penna?

Icelandic does not use separate indefinite articles like English does. Instead, the idea of an indefinite article is built into the noun’s use. So, penna on its own conveys the meaning of a pen without needing an extra word.

If I wanted to say He takes the pen, how would the sentence change in Icelandic?

To express definiteness, Icelandic attaches a definite article to the noun. The sentence would change to Hann tekur pennið, where -ið is added to penna to indicate the pen.

What is the word order structure of Hann tekur penna?

The sentence follows a subject–verb–object (SVO) structure. Hann is the subject, tekur is the verb, and penna is the object.