Ég set stóll á borðið.

I put a chair on the table.

Breakdown of Ég set stóll á borðið.

• ég: I
• borðið: the table
• setja: to put
• á: on
• stóll: the chair

Questions & Answers about Ég set stóll á borðið.

What is the literal translation of Ég set stóll á borðið?

It literally translates as "I put chair on the table." In natural English, we render it as "I put a chair on the table", with stóll meaning "chair" (indefinite) and borðið being the definite form of "table."

Why does borðið have a definite ending while stóll does not?

In Icelandic, definiteness is expressed by attaching a suffix to the noun rather than using a separate word. Borð (table) takes the neuter definite ending -ið to become borðið, showing that it refers to a specific, known table. Meanwhile, stóll appears in its indefinite form because the sentence does not specify a particular chair.

What are the grammatical genders of the nouns in this sentence, and how do they affect the formation of their definite forms?

Stóll is a masculine noun, and its definite form would typically be stóllinn (with the masculine definite ending -inn). Borð is a neuter noun, and its definite form is borðið (with the neuter ending -ið). The endings differ based on the noun’s gender, which is a key feature of Icelandic noun inflection.

What tense is the verb set, and is it correctly conjugated for the subject Ég?

The verb set is in the simple present tense, and it is correctly conjugated for the first-person singular subject Ég. It comes from the verb setja, meaning "to put," and here it functions much like the English present simple form, even though Icelandic conjugation rules differ from English.

How does the word order of this Icelandic sentence compare to English?

The sentence follows a Subject-Verb-Object structure with an additional prepositional phrase, which is very similar to English. However, unlike English, where we use separate words for articles (like a or the), Icelandic expresses definiteness by attaching suffixes to the noun.