Questions & Answers about Ég heyri samtal í stofunni.
What are the parts of speech and basic forms of each word?
- Ég: pronoun, 1st person singular nominative (I)
- heyri: present tense, 1st person singular of the verb heyra (to hear)
- samtal: neuter noun, singular, here the direct object (conversation)
- í: preposition (in)
- stofunni: feminine noun stofa (living room) in dative singular, definite form (in the living room)
Why is it heyri and not heyra?
Icelandic verbs must agree with the subject. Present tense of heyra:
- ég heyri
- þú heyrir
- hann/hún/það heyrir
- við heyrum
- þið heyrið
- þeir/þær/þau heyra
Which case is samtal in, and why doesn’t it change form?
It’s the direct object, so accusative singular. For neuter nouns like samtal, nominative and accusative singular look the same, so it stays samtal.
How would I say “the conversation” instead of “a conversation”?
Use the definite ending: Ég heyri samtalið. (neuter definite -ið)
Why is there no word for “a” before samtal?