Háskólinn er í borginni.

The university is in the city.

Breakdown of Háskólinn er í borginni.

• vera: to be
• í: in
• borgin: the city
• háskólinn: the university

Questions & Answers about Háskólinn er í borginni.

Why is the article attached to the nouns in Háskólinn and borginni?

Icelandic uses a suffixed definite article rather than a separate word. The endings attach to the noun and combine with case endings:

• Masculine: -inn (e.g., háskóli → háskólinn “the university”)
• Feminine: -in, which merges with case (e.g., borg
  • dative + -in → borginni “in the city”) There is no separate word for “the,” and there is no word for “a/an”; the bare noun is indefinite.

Which case is borginni, and why is that case used here?

Borginni is dative singular definite. The preposition í (“in/into”) takes:

• Dative for location (no movement): í borginni “in the city”
• Accusative for motion into: í borgina “into the city” Since the verb er (“is”) describes location, dative is required.

What is the difference between í borginni, í borgina, and í borg?

• í borginni = “in the city” (definite, dative, location)
• í borgina = “into the city” (definite, accusative, motion)
• í borg = “in a city” (indefinite, dative). Grammatically fine, but context determines whether an indefinite is natural.

What are the dictionary form and gender of borginni, and what are some key forms?