Ég skrifa símanúmerið og kennitöluna á pöntunina.

I write the phone number and the ID number on the reservation.

Breakdown of Ég skrifa símanúmerið og kennitöluna á pöntunina.

• ég: I
• skrifa: to write
• á: on
• og: and

Questions & Answers about Ég skrifa símanúmerið og kennitöluna á pöntunina.

Why do the nouns have those endings: -ið, -una, -ina?

Icelandic marks definiteness with a suffix rather than a separate word for “the.”

• símanúmerið = símanúmer (phone number, neuter) + -ið → “the phone number.”
• kennitöluna = kennitala (ID number, feminine) + accusative definite -na, with vowel change (see below) → “the ID number.”
• pöntunina = pöntun (order, feminine) + accusative definite -ina → “the order.” Using these definite forms implies specific, known items (e.g., the customer’s phone and ID number on that particular order).

What case are the nouns in, and why?

All three are in the accusative singular:

• símanúmerið and kennitöluna are direct objects of skrifa (to write), which typically takes its object in the accusative.
• á pöntunina uses á (a two-way preposition). With motion/placement onto something, á takes the accusative; here you’re writing onto the order, so accusative (pöntunina).

Why does kennitala become kennitöluna?

That’s u-umlaut (vowel harmony): in many feminine -a nouns, an a in the stem becomes ö in oblique cases (accusative/dative/genitive) because of a historical u in the ending. So: