Questions & Answers about Ég sé bílinn fyrir framan húsið.
What does sé mean and what form is it?
sé is the 1st person singular present indicative of the irregular verb sjá (“to see”). It translates as “I see.”
- Past tense: sá (“I saw”)
- Past participle: séð (“seen”)
Why is it sé instead of er?
er is the present of vera (“to be”) and describes states or locations (e.g. bíllinn er fyrir framan húsið – “the car is in front of the house”). sé is the present of sjá, focusing on perception: “I see…”
Why is the noun bíll written as bílinn?
Icelandic expresses the definite article as a suffix.
- bíll = “a car”
- bílinn = “the car”
The -inn ending is the definite singular masculine suffix. Here it’s also accusative (direct object), but masculine singular definite looks the same in nominative and accusative.
Why is the noun hús written as húsið?