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Questions & Answers about Hann notar tölvu.
What does Hann represent here?
Hann is the third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning he. It’s used for male humans or any masculine noun if you were referring back to it.
What is the infinitive behind notar and how do you conjugate it in the present tense?
The infinitive is að nota (“to use”). In the present tense you add endings to the stem nota-:
- Ég nota
- Þú notar
- Hann/Hún/Það notar
- Við notum
- Þið notið
- Þeir/Þær/Þau nota
Here notar is simply the 3rd person singular present with the -ar ending.
Why is the object tölvu and not tölva?
Icelandic marks direct objects with the accusative case. Tölva is a feminine -a-stem noun; in the accusative singular the ending changes -a → ‑u, giving tölvu.
Why isn’t there an article before tölvu?
Icelandic doesn’t use a separate indefinite article (like “a” or “an”). You just say the noun in its base (uncertain) form to mean “a computer.” If you want “the computer,” you add a suffix to make it definite.
How would you say “He uses the computer” then?
You would say Hann notar tölvuna.
Here tölvuna = tölva + -nu, which is the accusative definite ending for feminine nouns.
What is the normal word order in an Icelandic main clause?
The default order is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), just like in English. In our example:
Hann (S) notar (V) tölvu (O).
Word order can shift for emphasis or in subordinate clauses, but SVO is the norm in statements.
How do you pronounce the ö in tölvu?
The Icelandic ö is a front rounded vowel [œ], similar to the eu in French lune or the ö in German schön. So tölva sounds roughly like TEUL-va, with eu as in French.
Is nota a strong or a weak verb?
Nota is a regular (weak) verb in Icelandic. You can tell because it forms its past tense by adding -aði (han notaði) rather than changing its stem vowel.