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Questions & Answers about Settu gaffallinn á borðið.
Why is the verb settu used, and what does it signify?
Settu is the second-person singular imperative of setja “to put.” In Icelandic, you form commands (imperatives) by using a special verb form. Here, settu literally means “you put!” or “put!” when addressing one person.
Why is gaffallinn used instead of just gaffall?
Icelandic marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun rather than a separate word. Gaffall means “a fork,” while gaffallinn adds the masculine singular definite article -inn, so it means “the fork.”
What case is gaffallinn in, and how can I tell?
Here gaffallinn is in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of settu. In masculine strong-declension nouns like gaffall, the nominative and accusative singular forms look identical when definite, so you recognize the case by its function (it’s what’s being put).
Why does á govern the accusative in á borðið, rather than the dative?
The preposition á takes dative to express location (“on” somewhere) but accusative to express movement toward or onto a surface (“onto”). Since you’re putting the fork onto the table, á triggers the accusative case: borðið.
Why is borðið spelled with -ið at the end?
Borð (“table”) is a neuter noun. In the singular definite form (both nominative and accusative), neuter nouns take the ending -ið. Hence borð → borðið “the table.”
How would I say “the fork is on the table” (static location) instead?
For a static location you still use á, but switch to the dative case. You’d say:
Gaffallinn er á borðinu.
Here borðinu is the dative definite form (neuter singular: -inu).
What’s the normal word order in an Icelandic imperative like this?
Imperatives typically begin with the verb, followed by the direct object, then any prepositional or adverbial phrases. In our sentence:
Verb (Settu) → Object (gaffallinn) → Prepositional phrase (á borðið).
How do I pronounce Settu gaffallinn á borðið?
A rough IPA transcription is [ˈsɛtʏ ˈkafˌfalːɪn aː ˈpɔrðɪð]. Key points:
• The “g” in gaffallinn is pronounced [k].
• Double ll becomes a long [lː].
• The ð in borðið is a voiced dental fricative [ð], like “th” in English this.