Ég set penna á borð.

I put a pen on a table.

Breakdown of Ég set penna á borð.

• ég: I
• penni: the pen
• setja: to put
• á: on
• borð: the table

Questions & Answers about Ég set penna á borð.

What does the verb set mean, and how is it conjugated in this sentence?

The verb set is the first-person singular present tense form of setja, which means to put or to place. Its form indicates that the subject is Ég (which means I).

Why are there no articles like a or the before penna and borð?

Icelandic does not use separate indefinite articles like English does. Instead, nouns appear in their indefinite form by default, and definiteness is expressed by attaching suffixes. In this sentence, both penna and borð are in their indefinite forms, so no article is required.

What grammatical case is penna in, and why is that case used?

Penna is in the accusative case because it functions as the direct object of the verb setja. In Icelandic, direct objects are marked with the accusative case, which can alter the noun’s ending as seen with penna.

How does the preposition á function in this sentence, and what case does it require for its complement?

The preposition á generally means on or onto. In this sentence, the action of placing the pen implies movement toward the table, so á governs the accusative case. Although the noun borð does not change form in the accusative, this is why it is used without additional markings.

Why does borð not have any additional ending even though it's governed by the preposition á?

Many Icelandic nouns have identical forms in the nominative and accusative singular cases. Here, although borð is in the accusative case due to the movement implied by setja and the preposition á, its form remains unchanged from the base form.