Breakdown of Við lærum íslensku á netinu.
við
we
læra
to learn
íslenskan
the Icelandic language
á netinu
online
Questions & Answers about Við lærum íslensku á netinu.
What does each word in Við lærum íslensku á netinu correspond to in English?
Word by word, it is:
- Við – we (1st person plural subject pronoun)
- lærum – learn / are learning (1st person plural present of að læra = to learn)
- íslensku – Icelandic (the Icelandic language, in the accusative case)
- á netinu – on the internet / online
- á – on
- netinu – the internet, dative singular with the definite ending
So the whole sentence is literally: We learn Icelandic on the internet.
Why is it íslensku and not íslenska?
Icelandic marks grammatical case on nouns and adjectives. Language names change form depending on their role in the sentence.
The base form (nominative) is íslenska – used for the subject:
- Íslenska er erfitt mál. – Icelandic is a difficult language.
After læra (to learn), the language is the direct object, so it appears in the accusative case.
For íslenska, the accusative singular is íslensku.
So:
- Við lærum íslensku. – We learn Icelandic. (accusative object)
- Íslenska er falleg. – Icelandic is beautiful. (nominative subject)
That’s why it is íslensku here: it’s the thing being learned.
What tense is lærum, and does it mean “we learn” or “we are learning”?