Breakdown of Kennarinn gefur litla heimavinnu í dag.
lítill
little
kennarinn
the teacher
í dag
today
gefa
to give
heimavinnan
the homework
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Questions & Answers about Kennarinn gefur litla heimavinnu í dag.
What does the -inn in Kennarinn mean?
-inn is the definite article suffix in Icelandic. So Kennarinn = kennar (teacher) + -inn (the), i.e. “the teacher.”
Why does heimavinnu end with -u instead of -a?
Heimavinna is a feminine noun. In the accusative singular (direct object), feminine nouns take -u: nominative heimavinna, accusative heimavinnu.
Why is the adjective lítla not lítil or something else?
Adjectives agree in gender, number and case with their noun. Lítill (little) in the strong declension for a feminine, singular accusative noun becomes lítla, matching heimavinnu.
What case is heimavinnu in, and why?
It’s in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of the verb gefa (to give). Icelandic marks transitive objects with the accusative.
Why isn’t there an indirect object like “us” (e.g. okkur) after gefur?
In Icelandic, you can omit the indirect object if it’s clear from context. Still, you could say Kennarinn gefur okkur litla heimavinnu í dag to explicitly include “to us.”
Can I put í dag somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes. Icelandic follows a V2-order rule: the finite verb stays second. You could say Í dag gefur kennarinn litla heimavinnu, or even Kennarinn í dag gefur litla heimavinnu, though fronting í dag is most natural.
How would I say “the little homework” (definite) in Icelandic?
To make it definite, both adjective and noun take weak endings: litla heimavinnan (feminine singular accusative).
In English we say “a little homework.” Why isn’t there an indefinite “a” in Icelandic here?
Icelandic has no separate indefinite article. Leaving a noun without the definite suffix makes it indefinite. So lítla heimavinnu already means “a little homework.”