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Questions & Answers about Fólk syngur fallega.
Why is fólk treated as a singular noun even though it means “people”?
In Icelandic, fólk is a collective noun and always takes singular agreement. Grammatically it behaves as nominative singular, so the verb that follows must be in the 3rd person singular form.
What person and number is syngur, and why is that form used here?
syngur is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb syngja (“to sing”). Since fólk is grammatically singular, the verb agrees by taking the -ur ending for 3rd person singular present.
What case is fólk in, and how can I recognize it?
Here fólk is in the nominative singular, which is the form used for the subject of a sentence. It has no extra ending (the base form is fólk), so you simply learn it as the nominative.
Why is there no article before fólk? Don’t you need “the” or “a”?
Icelandic often omits articles before general or indefinite nouns. “Fólk syngur fallega” speaks about people in general (“people sing beautifully”). If you meant “the people,” you would use fólkið instead.
Why is fallega used instead of a form like fallegur or fallegt?
fallega is the adverb form of the adjective fallegur (“beautiful”). Adverbs in Icelandic modify verbs and typically end in -a, whereas adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.
Could fallega be mistaken for an adjective? How do I know it’s an adverb here?
Adjectives must agree with a noun’s gender, number, and case (e.g. fallegt fólk for “beautiful people”). Here fallega does not agree with fólk and sits after the verb, so it functions as an adverb modifying syngur.
Where does the adverb fallega go in Icelandic word order, and can I move it?
Icelandic main clauses follow a V2 (verb-second) rule. In “Fólk syngur fallega,” the subject fólk is first, the verb syngur second, and the adverb fallega third. You can front the adverb for emphasis—Fallega syngur fólk—but the verb must remain in second position.
How do I negate this sentence in Icelandic?
You insert ekki (the negation) after the verb or after the adverb if there is one. For example:
Fólk syngur ekki fallega.
(“People do not sing beautifully.”)