Hún á litla myndavél.

to have

Breakdown of Hún á litla myndavél.

• lítill: small
• hún: she
• myndavélin: the camera

Questions & Answers about Hún á litla myndavél.

What does the verb á mean here, and how can I tell it’s eiga (“to own”) and not the preposition á (“on”)?

Á is the third-person singular present form of eiga (“to own” or “have” in the sense of possession).
You know it’s a verb because:

• It sits between the subject (Hún) and the object (litla myndavél).
• The noun phrase litla myndavél is in the accusative case (objects of verbs).
  The preposition á (“on”) would take the dative case and typically appear before its object, not between subject and object.

Why is there no separate word for “a” before litla myndavél?

Icelandic does not use a separate indefinite article. Instead:

• Indefiniteness is shown by the lack of a definite suffix on the noun (myndavél vs. myndavélin).
• Strong adjective endings (here -a in litla) signal “a/an.”
  Thus litla myndavél literally means “small camera,” but functionally “a small camera.”

Why is the adjective litla and not lítil?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree in gender, number and case:

• Myndavél is feminine singular.
• It’s the direct object, so it’s in the accusative case.
  In the strong declension, the accusative feminine singular ending is -a, turning lítil into litla:
  lítil (nom. f.) → litla (acc. f.)

I notice myndavél looks the same as a nominative form. Isn’t it in the accusative here?

It is accusative, but many feminine nouns ending in -l keep identical forms in nominative, accusative and dative singular. Only the genitive singular (myndavélar) and the definite forms (myndavélin, myndavélarinnar, etc.) differ.

Which case is litla myndavél in, and how can I spot it?

It’s in the accusative case as the direct object of á. You can’t see a change on the noun (myndavél stays the same as nominative), but the adjective ending -a marks the feminine accusative.

How would I say “the small camera” instead of “a small camera”?

You add a definite suffix and use the weak adjective form. The accusative feminine singular definite is:
litlu myndavélina
So you’d say:
Hún á litlu myndavélina.
(That means “She owns the small camera.”)

What is the normal word order in this sentence?

The pattern is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO):

1. Hún (subject)
2. á (verb)
3. litla myndavél (object)
   Icelandic typically follows SVO in main clauses, especially with a pronoun subject up front.

Can I use hafa instead of eiga to express possession?

Generally no. Icelanders use eiga for simple present-tense ownership (“He owns a car” = Hann á bíl).
The verb hafa appears in other contexts (e.g. perfect tenses ég hef átt, or idiomatic expressions hafa gaman = “to have fun”), but not as the basic “to have” in the present for concrete objects.

How would I turn the sentence plural—“They have small cameras”?

1. Choose the right pronoun and verb form:
   Þeir eiga (masculine or mixed group)
   Þær eiga (all-female group)
2. Make the noun+adjective plural accusative: litlar myndavélar.
   So you get:
   Þeir eiga litlar myndavélar.
   or
   Þær eiga litlar myndavélar.

How do I pronounce Hún á litla myndavél?

Approximate English spelling:
HOON ow LIT-lah MIN-tah-vyel

• ú in hún sounds like English “oo.”
• á is like “ow” in “cow.”
• ý in myndavél is a short “i” as in “mint,” and é is like “ye” in “yes.”