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Questions & Answers about Glugginn er stór og hreinn.
What does glugginn mean, and how is it formed?
glugginn is the definite form of gluggi, meaning window. In Icelandic you attach the definite article as a suffix: gluggi (window) + -inn (masc. sing. def.) → glugginn (“the window”).
What case and number is glugginn in?
It’s nominative singular masculine because it’s the subject of the sentence.
What is the indefinite nominative singular form of glugginn?
The indefinite form is gluggi (“a window”).
How do Icelandic nouns show definiteness?
By adding a suffix (the definite article) directly to the noun. For example, masc. sing. adds -inn, fem. sing. adds -in, neut. sing. adds -ið, etc.
Why are the adjectives stór and hreinn not inflected with -i (as in stóri, hreini)?
Predicative adjectives after vera (“to be”) use the strong (indefinite) form, regardless of the noun’s definiteness. So you say er stór and er hreinn, not the weak/definite forms.
How do the adjectives agree with glugginn?
They agree in gender (masculine), number (singular) and case (nominative). The strong nominative singular masculine forms are stór and hreinn.
Why is hreinn spelled with double n?
The adjective’s base is hrein. When inflected in the strong nom. sing. masc., an extra n is added, giving hreinn. The double consonant also signals a longer/stronger sound in pronunciation.
What does og mean?
og simply means and.
How would I pronounce the sentence?
A rough IPA transcription is [ˈklʏkːɪn er stoːr ɔɣ ˈhreinː]. Stress is always on the first syllable: GLUG-ginn er STÓR og HREIN-n.
What is the typical word order here?
Standard Icelandic uses Subject–Verb–Predicate. So you have Glugginn (subj.) er (verb) stór og hreinn (predicative adjectives).
Can you form a question by inverting er and glugginn?
Yes. Er glugginn stór og hreinn? means “Is the window big and clean?”
How would this look in the plural (“the windows are big and clean”)?
Gluggarnir eru stórir og hreinir. Here gluggarnir is the def. nom. pl., eru is “are,” and adjectives take strong nom. pl. masc. forms stórir, hreinir.