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Questions & Answers about Hún ákvað að kaupa nýja skyrtu.
What does each word do in this sentence?
- Hún = she (nominative subject).
- ákvað = decided (3rd person singular past/preterite of ákveða “to decide”).
- að = to (infinitive marker).
- kaupa = buy (infinitive).
- nýja = new (adjective agreeing with skyrtu in gender/number/case).
- skyrtu = shirt (accusative singular of skyrta, typically a collared, button-up shirt).
Why is it skyrtu and not skyrta?
Because skyrta is a feminine noun, and as the direct object of kaupa it appears in the accusative singular, which for this noun is skyrtu. Nominative is skyrta (dictionary form); accusative singular is skyrtu.
Why is the adjective nýja (and not ný, nýr, or nýtt)?
Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Skyrtu is feminine, singular, accusative, and indefinite, so the strong form nýja is required: nýja skyrtu. If the noun were definite (with the suffixed article), you’d use the weak form (see below).
Where is the word for “a”? Why isn’t there an article before nýja skyrtu?
Icelandic has no indefinite article. Bare nouns can mean “a/an” in English. So að kaupa nýja skyrtu naturally means “to buy a new shirt,” not “the new shirt.”
What exactly is að here? Is it the same as the preposition að?
Here að is the infinitive marker (English “to” before a verb): ákvað að kaupa = “decided to buy.” It’s not the preposition að (“to/at”), which governs the dative and occurs before nouns or noun phrases.
Do we ever omit að before an infinitive?
Yes, after certain modal/auxiliary verbs it’s usually omitted, e.g. vilja, geta, mega, skulu:
- Hún vill kaupa nýja skyrtu (She wants to buy a new shirt). But with ákveða you keep að:
- Hún ákvað að kaupa nýja skyrtu.
How do I put negation in, and what changes in meaning?
- Hún ákvað ekki að kaupa nýja skyrtu = She did not decide to buy a new shirt (negates the deciding).
- Hún ákvað að kaupa ekki nýja skyrtu = She decided not to buy a new shirt (the deciding happened; the buying is negated).
How would I say “the new shirt” instead of “a new shirt”?
Use the suffixed definite article on the noun and the weak adjective:
- Hún ákvað að kaupa nýju skyrtuna = She decided to buy the new shirt.
Can I show that she is buying it for herself?
Yes. Add the reflexive dative sér (“for herself”):
- Hún ákvað að kaupa sér nýja skyrtu = She decided to buy herself a new shirt. Using sér is common when the subject benefits from the action.
What’s the difference between skyrta and bolur?
- skyrta: a collared, button-up shirt (dress shirt).
- bolur: a T-shirt. Another common word is blússa (a blouse).
What are other useful forms of ákveða?
- Infinitive: ákveða (to decide)
- Present 3sg: ákveður (she decides) – Hún ákveður að kaupa…
- Past 3sg: ákvað (she decided) – Hún ákvað að kaupa…
- Past plural: ákváðu (they decided) – Þau ákváðu að kaupa…
- Past participle: ákveðið – with perfect: Hún hefur ákveðið að kaupa… (She has decided to buy…)
Any quick pronunciation tips for the tricky bits?
- Hún: long ú (roughly “hoon”).
- á in ákvað: a diphthong like “ow” in “now.”
- ákvað: approx. “OW-kwath”; final ð is very soft or barely audible.
- að: short “a” plus soft ð (close to “ath”).
- skyrtu: first syllable like English “skirt,” but y sounds like short “i” (as in “sit”); final u is short (not like English “oo”). Before front vowels (i/y/í/ý/ei/ey), Icelandic sk is palatalized, giving a subtle “sh”-quality to the cluster.
Is the word order fixed, or can I front the object for emphasis?
You can front constituents for emphasis while keeping verb-second in the main clause:
- Neutral: Hún ákvað að kaupa nýja skyrtu.
- Emphatic/topicalized object: Nýja skyrtu ákvað hún að kaupa. The meaning is the same; the fronted version emphasizes “a new shirt.”
Why is the subject Hún and not Hana or Henni?
Icelandic personal pronouns inflect for case:
- Hún = nominative (subject) “she.”
- Hana = accusative (direct object) “her.”
- Henni = dative (indirect object) “to/for her.” Since she is the subject who decided, Hún is correct here.