Ég sit á milli gluggans og hurðarinnar.

I sit between the window and the door.

Breakdown of Ég sit á milli gluggans og hurðarinnar.

• ég: I
• sitja: to sit
• og: and
• hurðin: the door
• glugginn: the window
• á milli: between

Questions & Answers about Ég sit á milli gluggans og hurðarinnar.

What case are the words gluggans and hurðarinnar in, and why?

They are both in the genitive singular. The preposition milli (as in the compound preposition á milli) governs the genitive, so both nouns in the “between X and Y” phrase must be genitive: á milli X og Y with both X and Y in genitive form.

Do both nouns after á milli have to be in the genitive?

Yes. Both coordinated nouns must be in the genitive:

• Correct: á milli gluggans og hurðarinnar
• Incorrect: á milli gluggans og hurðinni / á milli gluggans og hurðina

Why are the nouns definite here (with -inn/-in), not indefinite?

Because the sentence refers to specific, contextually known items (the window and the door in the room). If you meant “a window and a door,” you would use the indefinite genitive forms:

• Definite: gluggans “of the window,” hurðarinnar “of the door”
• Indefinite: glugga “of a window,” hurðar “of a door”

How are the forms gluggans and hurðarinnar built?

They are the genitive singular with the definite article attached:

• gluggi (window, masc.)
  • Gen. sg. (indef.): glugga
  • • definite article (gen. sg. -ins) → gluggans (glugga + ins → -ans)
• hurð (door, fem.)
  • Gen. sg. (indef.): hurðar
  • • definite article (gen. sg. -innar) → hurðarinnar

Can I omit á and just say milli gluggans og hurðarinnar?

Yes. Both á milli and milli alone are standard with no change in meaning. In everyday Icelandic, á milli is very common and often sounds a bit more idiomatic in spatial contexts, but milli is equally correct.

Does á here take the dative or the accusative?

Neither. In the fixed preposition á milli, it’s milli that governs the genitive; the á does not assign case. Outside this expression, á by itself takes:

• Dative for location (no motion): Ég sit á stólnum “I’m sitting on the chair.”
• Accusative for motion toward: Ég sest á stólinn “I sit down on the chair.”

What is the conjugation behind Ég sit? Why not situr?

sit is the 1st person singular present of sitja “to sit.” Mini present-tense paradigm:

• ég sit
• þú situr
• hann/hún/það situr
• við sitjum
• þið sitjið
• þeir/þær/þau sitja

How do I say “I sit down between the window and the door”?

Use the inchoative verb setjast (“to sit down”), whose 1st person singular present is sest:

• Ég sest á milli gluggans og hurðarinnar. You can add niður for emphasis: Ég sest niður á milli ... (optional).

Why is there a double n in hurðarinnar?

Because the genitive singular definite article for feminine nouns is -innar, which inherently contains a double n. The form is built as hurð + (gen. sg. -ar) + (def. -innar) → hurðarinnar.

If I need to talk about more than two items, should I still use á milli?

For “among” (three or more), Icelandic typically uses á meðal or meðal + genitive:

• á meðal vina minna = “among my friends” Use á milli/milli for “between” two items. You will also see expressions like milli þriggja (“between three”), but for general “among,” prefer (á) meðal.

Can I use dyr instead of hurð?

Yes, but the meaning shifts:

• hurð = the door leaf/panel
• dyr (plural-only) = the doorway/entrance So “between the window and the doorway” would be: á milli gluggans og dyranna (note: dyranna is genitive plural definite).

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• Ég: like “yeh” with a soft, fricative “gh” at the end (not a hard g).
• á: like the “ow” in “cow,” but short and pure.
• milli: Icelandic “ll” sounds like a “t-l” cluster; approximate “MIT-lee.”
• gluggans: keep both g’s; the u is like the u in “put.”
• og: often pronounced just “o,” with the g silent in fluent speech.
• hurðarinnar: ð is the voiced “th” in “this”; roll the rr slightly.