Word
Hundurinn er sterkur.
Meaning
The dog is strong.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Hundurinn er sterkur.
Why does hundurinn end with -inn instead of using a separate word for the?
Icelandic marks definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun. The base noun hundur (“dog”) takes the definite suffix -inn, giving hundurinn (“the dog”).
What grammatical case, number, and gender is hundurinn, and why?
hundurinn is masculine singular nominative. It’s the subject of the sentence, so it appears in the nominative case. hundur is a masculine noun, and here it’s singular.
What is er, and how does it function in this sentence?
er is the 3rd person singular present tense of vera (“to be”). It acts as the copula, linking the subject (hundurinn) to the predicate adjective (sterkur).
Why is sterkur not inflected with -inn like hundurinn?
Predicative adjectives (those following a copula) use the strong declension and never take a definite suffix. Here sterkur is the strong nominative singular masculine form, matching hundurinn.
How would you say a strong dog in Icelandic?