Breakdown of Nokkrir nemendur byrja fyrr í dag.
í
to
dagur
the day
byrja
to start
nokkur
some
nemandinn
the student
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Questions & Answers about Nokkrir nemendur byrja fyrr í dag.
What does the word nokkrir mean, and why does it have that specific form?
Nokkrir is an indefinite adjective meaning some or a few. It appears in the masculine nominative plural form to agree with nemendur (students), which is a masculine plural noun in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.
Why is nemendur in the nominative case in this sentence?
Nemendur is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence—the ones performing the action. Icelandic, like many languages with case systems, marks the subject with the nominative, much like English uses word order.
How is the verb byrja conjugated here, and why doesn’t it show an extra ending for a plural subject?
The verb byrja is in the present tense and is used with a plural subject. In Icelandic, the present tense form for plural subjects often appears without an extra ending, similar to how English uses start instead of starts when the subject is plural.
What are the roles of fyrr and í dag in the sentence?
Fyrr means earlier and í dag means today. Both function as adverbial modifiers providing information about when the action takes place. Their placement at the end of the sentence is typical in Icelandic, where time expressions are usually found after the verb.
Is the word order in Nokkrir nemendur byrja fyrr í dag typical for Icelandic, and if so, how?
Yes, the word order is typical for an Icelandic declarative sentence. The structure usually follows the pattern: subject (Nokkrir nemendur), verb (byrja), and then adverbial modifiers (fyrr í dag). This order clearly indicates who is doing the action and when it occurs.