Frændi minn býr á litilli eyju nálægt borginni.

My uncle lives on a small island near the city.

Breakdown of Frændi minn býr á litilli eyju nálægt borginni.

• lítill: small
• á: on
• minn: my
• búa: to live
• borgin: the city
• nálægt: near
• frændinn: the uncle
• eyjan: the island

Questions & Answers about Frændi minn býr á litilli eyju nálægt borginni.

Why is it Frændi minn and not minn frændi at the start of the sentence?

In Icelandic, possessive pronouns like minn usually come after the noun, not before it, especially in everyday speech.

• Frændi minn = my uncle / my male relative (literally uncle my).
• minn frændi is grammatically possible, but:
  • It sounds more marked/emphatic, like stressing my uncle (as opposed to someone else’s).
  • In neutral sentences like this, Icelanders overwhelmingly prefer noun + possessive.

So Frændi minn býr… is the natural, neutral way to say My uncle lives….

Does frændi always mean uncle, or can it mean other relatives?

Frændi literally means male relative and is broader than English uncle.

Common uses:

• frændi – can be:
  • an uncle (mother’s or father’s brother),
  • a male cousin,
  • sometimes even other male relatives, depending on context.
• frænka – the female counterpart (aunt, female cousin, etc.).

In many learner contexts, frændi is translated as uncle because that’s often the easiest/commonest equivalent, but Icelandic is less specific here than English.

Why is it frændi and not frændann or frændinn?

Because:

1. Frændi is in the nominative singular, used for the subject of the sentence.
2. The possessive pronoun minn already makes it clear which uncle we mean, so a separate definite ending (-inn, -ann, etc.) is usually not added.

Compare:

• Frændi minn býr… – My uncle lives… (natural).
• Frændinn minn býr… – also possible, but more emphatic or specific, like that particular uncle of mine.

So frændi is the default subject form, and minn already gives the needed specificity.

Why is it býr and not búa in Frændi minn býr…?

Býr is the correct 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb að búa (to live, reside).

• Infinitive: að búa – to live.
• 1st person singular: ég bý – I live.
• 2nd person singular: þú býrð – you live.
• 3rd person singular: hann/hún/það býr – he/she/it lives.
• 1st person plural: við búum – we live.
• etc.

Here the subject is frændi minn (he), so you must use býr:
Frændi minn býr… – My uncle lives…

Why do we use á in býr á litilli eyju instead of í?

In Icelandic, the choice between á and í roughly follows spatial type:

• á (on, at) is used with:
  • surfaces: á borðinu – on the table
  • some places: á Íslandi – in Iceland
  • islands: á eyju – on an island
• í (in) is used with:
  • enclosed spaces: í húsi – in a house
  • many towns/cities: í Reykjavík – in Reykjavík

An eyja (island) is treated like a surface/location you are on, so you say:

• búa á eyju – to live on an island, not búa í eyju.

What case is used in á litilli eyju, and why?

Eyju is in the dative singular, because:

1. The preposition á:

   • takes dative when it describes location (where?),
   • takes accusative when it describes movement towards (to where?).

2. Here it expresses location: lives on a small island (no movement).

So:

• á litilli eyju (dative) – on a small island (where he lives).
• If it were movement: hann fer á litla eyju – he goes to a small island (accusative).

Why is the adjective litilli in that form, and what is it agreeing with?

Litilli is the dative feminine singular form of the adjective lítill (small). It has to agree with the noun eyju in:

• Gender: eyja/eyju is feminine.
• Number: singular.
• Case: dative (because of á
  • location).

So:

• Base adjective: lítill – small.
• Feminine dative singular: lítilli.
• Noun in same form: eyju (feminine dative singular).

Together:

• á litilli eyju – on a small island
  (adjective and noun match in gender, number, and case).

Note: You will usually see this written lítilli with an accent on í.

What is the base form of eyju, and how does it decline?

The base (dictionary) form is eyja – island (feminine, weak noun).

Singular:

• Nominative: eyja – an island (subject)
• Accusative: eyju
• Dative: eyju ← used in á litilli eyju
• Genitive: eyju

Plural:

• Nominative: eyjur
• Accusative: eyjar
• Dative: eyjum
• Genitive: eyja

So á litilli eyju uses the dative singular form eyju after á (location).

Is nálægt here a preposition or an adjective, and what case does it take?

In nálægt borginni, nálægt functions as a preposition meaning near, close to.

As a preposition, nálægt always governs the dative case:

• nálægt borginni – near the city.
• nálægt húsinu – near the house.
• nálægt sjónum – near the sea.

So borginni is in the dative because nálægt requires that case.

Why is it borginni and not borgin or just borg?

Because of two things: case and definiteness.

1. Case:

   • nálægt takes the dative.
   • The dative singular of borg is borg (bare form), and the definite dative is borginni.

2. Definiteness:

   • Icelandic usually marks the by adding a definite ending to the noun:
     • borg – city
     • borgin – the city (nom/acc)
     • borginni – the city (dative)

Here, near the city is specific, so definite:

• nálægt borginni – near the city (dative + definite ending).

Just nálægt borg would sound incomplete/odd; you normally want the definite form here.

Can the word order of the two place phrases be changed, like nálægt borginni á litilli eyju?

You have some flexibility, but not every order sounds equally natural.

• Very natural:
  • Frændi minn býr á litilli eyju nálægt borginni.
  • Frændi minn býr nálægt borginni á litilli eyju.

Both mean My uncle lives on a small island near the city, just with a slightly different emphasis (which part feels more like a final detail).

What you can’t do is break up the prepositional phrases incorrectly, for example:

• ✗ Frændi minn býr á nálægt borginni litilli eyju. (wrong)
• ✗ Frændi minn býr eyju á litilli nálægt borginni. (wrong)

The preposition + its phrase must stay together:

• á litilli eyju
• nálægt borginni

How do you pronounce the tricky vowels and consonants in this sentence, like æ, á, and the gt in nálægt?

Very roughly, for an English speaker:

• Frændi – /ˈfrauːntɪ/ approx.

  • æ is like the vowel in English eye.
  • fr as in friend.
  • Final -di is light, a bit like -di in buddy, but with a harder d/t feel.

• á in á litilli eyju – /au/

  • Similar to æ, also like ow in now, but tenser and shorter.

• nálægt – approx /ˈnaulaixt/:

  • á again like ow in now.
  • æ in the ægt part again like eye.
  • The g isn’t pronounced as a full [g]; the g+t cluster often sounds like a kind of -ixt/-eht ending with a harsh kh-type sound () plus t.

• borginni – /ˈpɔrɟɪnɪ/ approx.

  • Initial b can sound a bit like a soft p.
  • rg in Icelandic often has a slightly palatalized sound, not exactly like English rg.

These are only approximations; listening to native audio is very helpful for getting the exact Icelandic sounds.