Tölvan bilar stundum.

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Breakdown of Tölvan bilar stundum.

• tölvan: the computer
• bila: to break down

Questions & Answers about Tölvan bilar stundum.

Where is "the" in Icelandic here? Why is it Tölvan and not tölva?

Icelandic puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• tölva = a computer (indefinite)
• tölvan = the computer (definite)

For feminine nouns ending in -a like tölva, you typically add just -n to make the definite form: tölvan. (Other nouns take -inn/-in/-ið depending on gender and stem.)

What gender is tölva, and what pronoun would I use for it?

Tölva is feminine. If you refer back to it, you use the feminine pronoun:

• Nominative: hún (she/it)
• Accusative: hana
• Dative: henni
• Genitive: hennar Example: Tölvan bilar stundum. Hún er gömul.

What case is tölvan in, and why?

Tölvan is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence. With an active verb like bilar (“breaks down”), the subject is nominative.

Why is the verb in second position? Could I say “Tölvan stundum bilar”?

Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2). The finite verb must come in second position.

• Correct: Tölvan bilar stundum.