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Veröldin er stór, en draumarnir okkar eru stærri.

Veröldin er stór, en draumarnir okkar eru stærri.
The world is big, but our dreams are bigger.
FromLesson 11inHardcore Icelandic

Breakdown of Veröldin er stór, en draumarnir okkar eru stærri.

vera
to be
stór
big
en
but
okkar
our
stærri
bigger
veröldin
the world
draumurinn
the dream

Questions & Answers about Veröldin er stór, en draumarnir okkar eru stærri.

Why is veröldin used instead of veröld, and draumarnir instead of draumar?

Icelandic expresses definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun.

  • veröld (“world”) becomes veröldin (“the world”) by adding the feminine singular definite ending -in.
  • draumar is the indefinite plural of draumur (“dream”), and draumarnir is its definite plural, formed with -arnir.
Why is the verb in the first clause er and in the second clause eru?

Icelandic verbs agree in number with their subject.

  • veröldin is singular, so we use er (3rd person singular “is”).
  • draumarnir is plural, so we use eru (3rd person plural “are”).
Why is the adjective stór in veröldin er stór not in the weak form stóra?
Adjectives in predicate position (after verbs like er) always appear in their strong (indefinite) form, regardless of the noun’s definiteness. That is why you say veröldin er stór and not veröldin er stóra.
How do we form the comparative stærri from stór?

Most comparatives add -ari to the stem, but stór is irregular:

  1. The vowel ó shifts to æ, giving the stem stær-.
  2. You then add the comparative ending -ri for nominative singular (masc/fem) and nominative plural.
    Hence stærri means “bigger.”
Why do we say draumarnir okkar instead of okkar draumar?

In Icelandic the possessive pronoun normally follows the noun and does not inflect in that position.

  • draumarnir okkar literally “the dreams of ours” is the natural way to say “our dreams.”
    You could also say draumar okkar (“dreams of ours”), but you would not place okkar before draumar.
What does en mean in this sentence?
en is a coordinating conjunction meaning but (expressing contrast). It links two clauses to highlight that although the world is big, our dreams are even bigger.
What gender is veröld, and how can I tell?
veröld is a feminine noun. Icelandic has three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter). You generally learn each noun’s gender together with the word or look it up in a dictionary. Feminine nouns often end in -ld, -ð, or -ing, but there are exceptions.
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