Foreldrar mínir vinna í borginni.

My parents work in the city.

Breakdown of Foreldrar mínir vinna í borginni.

• vinna: to work
• minn: my
• í: in
• borgin: the city
• foreldrið: the parent

Questions & Answers about Foreldrar mínir vinna í borginni.

Why is the phrase Foreldrar mínir used here, and why does the possessive pronoun come after the noun?

In Icelandic the possessive pronoun must agree in gender, number and case with the noun it modifies.

• Foreldrar is masculine plural nominative.
• The weak form of minn for masc. pl. nom. is mínir.
  So you get Foreldrar mínir.
  Also, unlike English, Icelandic normally places the possessive pronoun after the noun.

Why don’t we see an article like “the” or “a” in Foreldrar mínir?

Icelandic has no separate words for “a/an” or “the.”

• Indefiniteness is unmarked (there is no plural “a”).
• Definiteness is shown by suffixes (e.g. -inn, -ið, -nir).
• When you use a possessive pronoun, the noun automatically is definite, so you do not add a definite ending.
  Hence just Foreldrar mínir (“my parents”).

Why is the verb vinna used here instead of vinnur?

In the present tense Icelandic verbs agree with both person and number:

• 3rd person singular (he/she/it) ends in -ur: e.g. hann vinnur (“he works”).
• 3rd person plural (they) uses the bare stem, identical to the infinitive: vinn­­a.
  Since foreldrar is plural, you use vinna for “they work.”

How do we get borginni from borg, and why not just borg or borgin?

Three processes happen here:

1. Definiteness: the suffix -in marks “the city” → borg → borgin.
2. Case: the preposition í (“in”) for static location requires the dative case.
3. Dative singular of the definite form borgin is borginni.

So í borginni = “in the city.”

When does í take dative and when does it take accusative?

Icelandic prepositions often switch case by meaning:

• Dative with static location (“where?”):
  • ég er í borginni – I am in the city.
• Accusative with direction or motion (“whither?”):
  • ég fer í borg – I go into a city.

What is the usual word order in an Icelandic main clause, and what if I start with í borginni?

Icelandic is a V2‐language: the finite verb must be in second position.

• Default: Subject – Verb – (Object/Adverbial)
  • Foreldrar mínir (S) vinna (V) í borginni (Adv).
• If you front the adverbial: Adverbial – Verb – Subject
  • Í borginni (Adv) vinna (V) foreldrar mínir (S).