Gestirnir sofa á sófanum í stofunni.

The guests sleep on the sofa in the living room.

Breakdown of Gestirnir sofa á sófanum í stofunni.

• sofa: to sleep
• á: on
• í: in
• gesturinn: the guest
• sófinn: the sofa
• stofan: the living room

Questions & Answers about Gestirnir sofa á sófanum í stofunni.

Why does gestirnir have the -nir ending and what does it express?

In Icelandic the definite article is a suffix attached to the noun.
• gestir is the plural of gestur (“guest”).
• Adding -nir makes it definite: gestirnir = “the guests.”
Without the suffix you’d have just gestir = “guests.”

Why is the verb simply sofa and not some continuous/“-ing” form like in English?

Icelandic does not distinguish a progressive aspect. The simple present tense covers both habitual and ongoing actions.
For example, Ég les can mean “I read” or “I am reading” depending on context. Here gestir sofa means “the guests sleep” or “the guests are sleeping.”

Why is sófanum in the dative case, and why the ending -num?

The preposition á meaning “on” takes the dative when indicating location.
• sófi (masculine singular) → dative indefinite sófa (“on a sofa”).
• To make it definite, add the article-suffix -num → sófanum = “on the sofa.”

Why is í stofunni also in the dative case with the ending -unni?

The preposition í meaning “in” takes the dative for stationary location inside something.
• stofa (feminine singular) → dative indefinite stofu (“in a living room”).
• Definite dative adds -inni → stofunni = “in the living room.”

Why do we use á for “on the sofa” but í for “in the living room”?

Icelandic distinguishes surface vs. enclosed-space prepositions:
• á + dative for surfaces or open areas (e.g. á borðinu, á sófanum) = “on the table/sofa.”
• í + dative for enclosed spaces (e.g. í stofunni) = “in the living room.”

Could you omit the definite suffixes or place them differently?

No. Definiteness in Icelandic is always marked by a suffix on the noun (not a separate word). You can reorder the phrases (e.g. Gestirnir sofa í stofunni á sófanum), but the -nir, -num, and -unni must stay attached to their nouns.

What are the grammatical genders of gestur, sófi, and stofa, and how do they affect these forms?

• gestur is masculine. Plural nominative: gestir; definite plural: gestirnir.
• sófi is masculine. Dative singular indefinite: sófa; definite: sófanum.
• stofa is feminine. Dative singular indefinite: stofu; definite: stofunni.

How would you say the indefinite version “Guests sleep on a sofa in a living room”?

Use the dative singular indefinite forms and drop the article-suffixes:
Gestir sofa á sófa í stofu.