Ég set buxurnar í skápinn.

I

Breakdown of Ég set buxurnar í skápinn.

• setja: to put
• í: in
• buxurnar: the pants

Questions & Answers about Ég set buxurnar í skápinn.

Why is buxurnar plural, and what is the -nar ending?

• buxur means pants/trousers and is a plural-only noun (like English pants). There is no singular form for one pair.
• buxurnar = the pants (definite plural). The ending -nar is the feminine plural definite ending.
• Here it’s also in the accusative case, but for feminine plural, nominative and accusative look the same: buxur (indef.) / buxurnar (def.).

Why is it í skápinn and not í skápnum?

• The preposition í takes:
  • Accusative for motion into: í skápinn (into the closet).
  • Dative for location in: í skápnum (in the closet).
• Your sentence describes movement into, so accusative (skápinn) is required.

Why is the article attached to the noun (no separate “the”)?

Icelandic uses a suffixed definite article:

• skápur = closet (indef.)
• skápurinn = the closet (nom. def.)
• skápinn = the closet (acc. def.)
• buxur = pants (indef.)
• buxurnar = the pants (def.)

Why is it ég set and not ég setur?