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Breakdown of Ég sá aðra tilkynningu í bókabúðinni í gær.
ég
I
sjá
to see
í
in
í gær
yesterday
annar
another
bókabúðin
the bookstore
tilkynning
the announcement
Questions & Answers about Ég sá aðra tilkynningu í bókabúðinni í gær.
Why is it aðra and not annan or aðrar?
Because tilkynning is a feminine noun and it’s the direct object, so both the adjective and the noun must be accusative feminine singular. The irregular adjective annar (“other/another; second”) has:
- nominative sg: masculine annar, feminine önnur, neuter annað
- accusative sg: masculine annan, feminine aðra, neuter annað
So you need feminine accusative singular: aðra (matching tilkynningu).
What does the -u at the end of tilkynningu mean?
It marks the oblique singular for this noun type. Many feminine nouns in -ing take -u in the accusative and dative singular. Mini-paradigm:
- Singular: nominative tilkynning, accusative tilkynningu, dative tilkynningu, genitive tilkynningar
- Plural: nominative/accusative tilkynningar, dative tilkynningum, genitive tilkynninga
Here, as a direct object, it’s accusative: tilkynningu.
Why is bókabúðinni in the dative after í?
With a location meaning (“in/inside”), í governs the dative: í bókabúðinni = in the bookstore. If you mean motion into somewhere, í takes the accusative: í bókabúðina = into the bookstore.
Why does bókabúðinni have the definite ending -inni?
Icelandic attaches the definite article to the noun. For feminine dative singular the suffix is -inni.
- Indefinite: í bókabúð = in a bookstore
- Definite: í bókabúðinni = in the bookstore Word formation: bóka (books; the compounding form of bók) + búð (shop) + -inni (definite, fem. dat. sg.).
Could I say á bókabúðinni instead of í bókabúðinni?
No, not for “in the bookstore.” Use í for being inside a shop. á (“on/at”) is used with certain places by convention (e.g., á veitingastaðnum “at the restaurant”), and sometimes with institutions (“at the library” can be á bókasafninu), but for a store the neutral choice is í (bókabúðinni).
Can I front the time phrase and say: Í gær sá ég aðra tilkynningu í bókabúðinni?
Yes. Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2). If you move Í gær to the front, the finite verb sá must still be in second position: Í gær sá ég … Both placements are fine.
Does it matter whether I say í bókabúðinni í gær or í gær í bókabúðinni?
Both are acceptable. Many speakers prefer time before place in neutral narration (… í gær … í bókabúðinni), but your order (place before time) is also common. Putting an element earlier tends to give it slight emphasis or make it the topic.
Why is it simple past sá rather than hef séð when “yesterday” is mentioned?
With a specific past-time expression like í gær, Icelandic uses the simple past, not the present perfect.
- Correct: Ég sá aðra tilkynningu í gær.
- Incorrect: Ég hef séð … í gær. Key forms of sjá (“to see”):
- Present: ég sé, þú sérð, hann/hún sér, við sjáum, þið sjáið, þeir sjá
- Past: ég sá, þú sást, hann/hún sá, við sáum, þið sáuð, þeir sáu
- Past participle: séð
Does annar mean “another,” “the other,” or “second”? What does aðra mean here?
annar covers all three, and context decides:
- “another/different/additional”: Ég sá aðra tilkynningu = I saw another announcement. (That’s the natural reading here.)
- “the other (of two)”: use hinn/hin/hitt. For example: Ég sá hina tilkynninguna = I saw the other announcement (of two).
- “second” (ordinal): in ordered lists: önnur tilkynning = the second announcement.
How would I say “I saw two other announcements”?
Ég sá tvær aðrar tilkynningar.
- tvær = feminine form of “two”
- aðrar = feminine accusative plural of annar
- tilkynningar = accusative plural of tilkynning
Is tilkynning the right word here, or should it be auglýsing?
- tilkynning = announcement/notice (information, official notice, store notice)
- auglýsing = advertisement/ad/classified At a bookstore you might see either. For a posted notice with information, tilkynning fits; for an advertisement (“20% off”), use auglýsing.
How are the special letters pronounced, like é in Ég and ð in bókabúðinni?
- é is a single vowel, roughly like “ye” + long e; Ég sounds close to “yehg.”
- ð is a voiced “th” (as in “this”). In bókabúðinni, that ð is pronounced like that: roughly “BOH-ka-booth-inni” (Icelandic has different vowel length/stress, but this gets you near).
What cases are used for each word?
- Ég: nominative singular (subject)
- sá: finite past of sjá
- aðra: accusative feminine singular (agrees with the object)
- tilkynningu: accusative feminine singular (direct object)
- í (before bókabúðinni): preposition governing dative for location
- bókabúðinni: dative feminine singular, definite (object of í)
- í gær: fixed time expression “yesterday” (learned as a set phrase)
Why is bókabúð one word instead of two?
Icelandic builds compounds as a single word. The first part is often a genitive form: bóka- is the compounding (genitive plural) form of bók (“book”), so bókabúð literally “books-shop” = bookstore.
Can í gær be used without í?
No. “Yesterday” is the fixed phrase í gær. Similarly, “today” is í dag, while “tomorrow” is á morgun (note the different preposition). These are set expressions you memorize.
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