Hann kaupir flík í búð.

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Breakdown of Hann kaupir flík í búð.

• kaupa: to buy
• í: to
• búðin: the store

Questions & Answers about Hann kaupir flík í búð.

Why is there no indefinite article like a or an before flík or búð?

Icelandic simply doesn’t use an indefinite article. Nouns in their indefinite form stand alone, so flík means (a) garment and búð means (a) store. To make a noun definite, Icelandic adds a suffix: flíkan = the garment, búðin = the store.

What cases are flík and búð in, and how can you tell?

In Hann kaupir flík í búð:

• flík is the direct object of kaupir, so it’s in the accusative case. For strong feminine nouns the nom., acc. and dat. sing. all look like flík, but here it’s accusative because it follows the verb.
• búð follows the preposition í indicating location, so it’s in the dative case. (The genitive would be búðar.)

What’s the difference between í búð, í búðinni, and í búðina?

• í búð = in a store (indefinite location, dative).
• í búðinni = in the store (definite location, dative; -inni = definite dative suffix).
• í búðina = into the store (definite direction, accusative; -ina = definite accusative suffix).

How would you say “He bought a garment in a store” (past tense)?