Breakdown of Nágranninn drekkur kaffi á morgnana.
drekka
to drink
kaffi
the coffee
á
in
morgunninn
the morning
nágranninn
the neighbor
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Icelandic grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Nágranninn drekkur kaffi á morgnana.
What does the suffix -inn in nágranninn indicate?
It’s the definite article attached to the noun, turning nágranni (“neighbor”) into nágranninn (“the neighbor”). In Icelandic, the definite article usually appears as a suffix, not as a separate word.
Why is the verb drekka written as drekkur in this sentence?
Drekkur is the third person singular present indicative form of drekka (“to drink”). Icelandic verbs conjugate for person and number, so with a singular subject like nágranninn, you use drekkur.
Why doesn’t kaffi have an article like “a” or “the”?
Kaffi is an uncountable (mass) noun meaning “coffee.” When talking about coffee in general—rather than a specific cup—Icelandic omits the article, much like English “He drinks coffee.”
What case is kaffi in, and why does it look identical to the base form?
It’s in the accusative case (the direct object of drekkur). Neuter nouns in Icelandic have the same form in nominative and accusative, so kaffi remains unchanged.
What does á morgnana mean, and why use that particular form?
Á morgnana means “in the mornings.” Here:
• á is a preposition meaning “in/on.”
• morgnana is the definite plural of morgun (“morning”).
The definite plural signals a habitual action—i.e., something that happens every morning.
Could you say um morguninn instead of á morgnana?
Yes, um morguninn means “in the morning” (singular) and often refers to one specific morning or mornings in a general sense. For a regular routine (“every morning”), though, á morgnana (definite plural) is more natural.
Why isn’t there a pronoun like hann (“he”) before drekkur?
Because nágranninn is already the subject. Icelandic follows a Verb-Second (V2) word order: the verb must come second, regardless of whether the subject is a noun or pronoun. Adding hann would be redundant since nágranninn clearly names the subject.