Strákurinn hlær svo mikið að hann talar ekki.

not

Breakdown of Strákurinn hlær svo mikið að hann talar ekki.

• hann: he
• svo: so
• að: that

Questions & Answers about Strákurinn hlær svo mikið að hann talar ekki.

Why does Strákurinn have the ending -inn?

The ending -inn is the definite article in Icelandic. Instead of a separate word like English the, Icelandic usually attaches a suffix to the noun.

• strákur = boy
• strákurinn = the boy

So Strákurinn hlær… literally means “The boy laughs…”
The form strákurinn is nominative singular masculine definite.

Why is Strákurinn in the nominative case?

In Icelandic, the subject of a normal active sentence is in the nominative case.

In this sentence:

• Strákurinn = subject (who is doing the laughing and not speaking)
• hlær / talar = verbs

Because the boy is the one performing the actions, Strákurinn must be nominative, not accusative or dative.

What does hlær mean exactly, and which form is it?