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Questions & Answers about Vegurinn er opinn.
Why does vegurinn end with -inn?
In Icelandic, the definite article is attached as a suffix.
- vegur is the indefinite form “a road.”
- vegurinn = “the road,” where -inn is the masculine singular definite article.
What case is vegurinn in and why?
vegurinn is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence (the thing performing or being described by the verb). In Icelandic, subjects usually stand in the nominative.
Why is the verb er used here?
er is the present‐tense form of að vera (“to be”). It corresponds to English is. You use it to link the subject (vegurinn) with its description (opinn).
Why is the adjective opinn ending in -inn instead of just opin?
Adjectives in Icelandic must agree with their noun in gender, number, case and definiteness. Here:
- Gender: masculine (vegur is masculine)
- Number: singular
- Case: nominative (because it’s a predicate adjective)
- Definiteness: definite (because the noun is definite)
So the correct form is opinn, not opin (which would be feminine singular) or opið (neuter).
Can I say vegurinn er opin instead?
No. Opin is the feminine singular form. Vegurinn is masculine, so the adjective must be masculine too (opinn).
How would I turn Vegurinn er opinn into a question?
Invert the verb and the subject. You get:
Er vegurinn opinn?
This means “Is the road open?”
How do I pronounce Vegurinn er opinn?
In IPA:
[ˈvɛːɣʏrɪn ˌɛr ˈɔpɪn]
Breakdown:
- Ve-gur-inn → [ˈvɛː.ɣʏ.rɪn]
- er → [ˌɛr]
- op-inn → [ˈɔ.pɪn]
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