Kennarinn biður um netfangið þitt.

the teacher

Breakdown of Kennarinn biður um netfangið þitt.

• þinn: your
• biðja um: to ask for
• netfangið: the email address

Questions & Answers about Kennarinn biður um netfangið þitt.

Why does kennari have the ending -inn here?

The ending -inn is the definite‐article suffix for masculine nouns in Icelandic. By adding -inn to kennari (teacher), you get kennarinn, which means the teacher rather than just “a teacher.”

What is the infinitive of biður, and how does it conjugate in the present tense?

The infinitive is biðja (to ask). In the present tense you have:
• ég bið (I ask)
• þú biður (you ask)
• hann/hún biður (he/she asks)
• við biðjum (we ask)
• þið biðið (you pl. ask)
• þeir/þær biðja (they ask)

Here, biður is 3rd person singular (“he/she/it asks”).

Why is the preposition um used with biður?

The verb biðja takes um when you “ask for” something:
biðja um e-ð = to request or ask for something.
So kennarinn biður um netfangið þitt literally means “the teacher asks for your email address.”

Why does netfang have the ending -ið here?

Netfang (email address) is a neuter noun. The suffix -ið is the definite‐article ending for neuter singular in both nominative and accusative. Thus netfangið = the email address.

Why isn’t there a separate ending on netfangið to show it’s the object of the sentence?

In Icelandic, neuter singular nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative. You mark definiteness with -ið, but you don’t add another ending for the object. So netfangið can be either “the email address” (subject) or “the email address” (object) — you tell by word order and context.

What is þitt, and why does it come after netfangið?

Þitt is the neuter singular form of the 2nd‐person possessive pronoun (your). It agrees in gender and number with netfang (which is neuter singular). In Icelandic the possessive pronoun normally follows the noun it modifies:
netfangið þitt = your email address.

Shouldn’t there be a word for “you” (e.g. þig) in this sentence?

The full pattern of biðja when you specify who is being asked is: biðja e-n (acc.) um e-ð.
For example:
kennarinn biður þig um netfangið þitt (the teacher asks you for your email address).
But in notices or announcements, the person being addressed (you) is often clear from context and can be omitted. That’s why you see simply kennarinn biður um netfangið þitt.

What is the basic word order in Kennarinn biður um netfangið þitt?

Icelandic typically follows Subject–Verb–Object order. Here the object is introduced by the preposition um:
Subject (kennarinn) – Verb (biður) – Prepositional Object (um netfangið þitt).