Breakdown of Hún selur bækur á markaðnum um helgar.
Questions & Answers about Hún selur bækur á markaðnum um helgar.
Because the verb selja takes an accusative direct object, and here we mean “books” (plural). Bækur is the nominative/accusative plural of bók “book.”
- Singular: bók (nom/acc/dat), bókar (gen)
- Plural: bækur (nom/acc), bókum (dat), bóka (gen) If you wanted “the books,” you’d say bækurnar (accusative plural definite). “Some books” can be nokkrar bækur.
- Hún is nominative (subject).
- bækur is accusative (direct object of selur).
- á markaðnum is dative because á takes the dative for location (“at/on” a place).
- um helgar is accusative plural because um takes the accusative in time expressions (“during/on” weekends).
Use á + dative for location (being at/on a place) and á + accusative for direction (movement to/onto a place).
- Location: Hún selur bækur á markaðnum. (She sells books at the market.)
- Direction: Hún fer á markaðinn. (She goes to the market.) Indefinite “at a market” would be á markaði (dative, no article).
Icelandic puts the definite article at the end of the noun. Markaðnum means “the market” (dative singular definite). There is no separate word like English “the.” Icelandic has no indefinite article (“a/an”), so plain plural bækur already means “books.” To make it definite: bækurnar (“the books”).
Yes. Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2), so the finite verb stays in position 2 no matter what you front:
- Hún selur bækur á markaðnum um helgar.
- Um helgar selur hún bækur á markaðnum.
- Á markaðnum selur hún bækur um helgar. All are fine; choose what you want to emphasize.
Selur is the standard 2nd/3rd person singular present ending for many verbs like selja. Present of selja:
- ég sel
- þú selur
- hann/hún selur
- við seljum
- þið seljið
- þeir/þær/þau selja Preterite: seldi (ég seldi), past participle: selt.
Place ekki after the finite verb:
- Hún selur ekki bækur á markaðnum um helgar. For “never,” use aldrei: Hún selur aldrei bækur á markaðnum um helgar.
Yes. Dative plural is á mörkuðum (“at/in markets”). Definite dative plural is á mörkuðunum (“at the markets”):
- Hún selur bækur á mörkuðum um helgar.
- Hún selur bækur á mörkuðunum um helgar.
- á sounds like the “ow” in “cow.”
- æ (in bækur) sounds like “eye.”
- Final -ur (as in selur, bækur) is a short rounded vowel plus r; think a quick “-ur.”
- ð (in markaðnum) is like the soft th in “this.”
- u in um is short and rounded (not like English “oo”).
- Icelandic r is tapped or trilled.