Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Icelandic grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Helgin er stutt.
Where is “the” in this sentence? I don’t see a separate word for it.
Icelandic adds the definite article as a suffix. So helgi (weekend) + the definite ending -n becomes helgin = “the weekend.” That’s why there’s no separate word for “the.”
Why is it stutt and not stuttur or stutta?
- The adjective is in predicate position after the verb er (is). In this position, Icelandic uses the strong declension of the adjective.
- The adjective “short” is stuttur in the dictionary (masc. nom. sg., strong). Its strong nominative forms are:
- Masculine: stuttur
- Feminine: stutt
- Neuter: stutt
- Since helgin is feminine, the correct strong form is stutt.
- The weak form stutta would be used before a definite noun: e.g., stutta helgin = “the short weekend.”
What gender is helgi, and does that matter here?
Helgi is a feminine noun. That matters because adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Here the subject is feminine singular nominative (helgin), so the predicate adjective appears as feminine singular nominative strong: stutt.
Which case is Helgin in, and why?