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Questions & Answers about Hún málar húsið.
What does Hún mean and what is its role in the sentence?
Hún is the 3rd-person singular feminine pronoun, meaning she. Here it functions as the subject performing the action.
What is málar, and what tense and person does it represent?
Málar is the present-tense form of the verb mála (to paint). The ending -ar marks it as 3rd person singular present (“she paints”).
Why isn’t there an að before málar?
In Icelandic, að is used before the infinitive (e.g. að mála = “to paint”). Here málar is a finite, conjugated verb in the present tense, so no að is needed.
What does húsið mean, and why does it have the suffix -ið?
Húsið is the definite form of hús (house), so it means the house. Neuter nouns form the definite singular by adding -ið.
What case is húsið in? Why does it look like the nominative?
It’s in the accusative case (direct object of málar). Neuter singular nouns have identical forms in the nominative and accusative, so húsið serves both roles.
Why is there no preposition (like “á” or “of”) before húsið?
Mála is a transitive verb that takes a direct object in the accusative without any preposition, just like English “paint the house.”
Does the sentence follow a particular word order pattern?
Yes. Icelandic main clauses typically use Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order: Hún (S) málar (V) húsið (O).
How would you express “She is painting the house” to emphasize the ongoing action?
Use the progressive construction vera að + infinitive:
Hún er að mála húsið.
Literally “She is at painting the house.”
Can you drop the pronoun Hún and just say Málar húsið? Why or why not?
Not safely. Many Icelandic verbs (including málar) have identical 2nd and 3rd person singular endings. Dropping hún would make it unclear whether “you [singular]” or “she” is painting.
How do you turn Hún málar húsið into a yes/no question?
Invert the verb and subject:
Málar hún húsið?
(“Is she painting the house?”)