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Questions & Answers about Hamingjan er falleg.
Why does hamingjan end with -n?
In Icelandic, definiteness is marked by a suffix on the noun. The indefinite form is hamingja (“happiness”), and the definite form is hamingjan (“the happiness”). Even when English simply says “happiness,” Icelandic often uses the definite form for abstract concepts.
What is the gender of hamingja, and how does that affect the adjective falleg?
Hamingja is a feminine noun. Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. The adjective “beautiful” has these nominative singular forms:
• Masculine: fallegur
• Feminine: falleg
• Neuter: fallegt
Since hamingjan is feminine singular nominative, the correct form is falleg.
Why isn’t the adjective falleg inflected for definiteness (e.g. fallega)?
Adjectives used predicatively (after the verb er) always appear in their indefinite (strong) forms, regardless of the noun’s definiteness. That’s why we say er falleg, not er fallega.
What case is hamingjan in, and why is it the nominative?
Hamingjan is in the nominative singular definite case because it functions as the grammatical subject of the sentence. In Icelandic, subjects always take the nominative.
Can you drop the -n and say hamingja er falleg instead?
Yes, grammatically you can. Hamingja er falleg would be “happiness is beautiful” in the indefinite. However, Icelandic often prefers the definite form (hamingjan) when making a general statement about an abstract idea.
Where is the word “the” in the English translation?
Icelandic expresses “the” by attaching a suffix to the noun (here -n). There is no separate word for “the” as in English. So hamingjan literally means “the happiness,” but we usually translate it just as “happiness.”
Is the word order always Subject–Verb–Adjective in sentences like this?
Yes, for a simple predicative sentence the normal order is Subject (noun) + Verb (er) + Predicative Adjective. You can change it for stylistic reasons, but Hamingjan er falleg follows the default S–V–Adj pattern.