Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni.

The boy sometimes cries in the waiting room.

Breakdown of Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni.

• stundum: sometimes
• í: in
• strákurinn: the boy
• biðstofan: the waiting room
• gráta: to cry

Questions & Answers about Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni.

What does each word in Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni literally mean?

Word-by-word:

• strákurinn = the boy

  • strákur = boy
  • -inn = the (masculine singular nominative ending)

• grætur = cries / is crying

  • 3rd person singular present of gráta (to cry, to weep)

• stundum = sometimes

• í = in

• biðstofunni = the waiting room

  • biðstofa = waiting room
  • -unni = the (feminine singular dative ending)

So literally: Boy-the cries sometimes in waiting-room-the.

Why is it strákurinn and not just strákur?

Strákurinn has the definite ending -inn, so it means the boy, not just a boy.

• strákur = a boy (indefinite)
• strákurinn = the boy (definite)

Icelandic usually attaches the definite article as an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

If you wanted A boy sometimes cries in a waiting room, you could say:

• Strákur grætur stundum í biðstofu.

Why isn’t there a separate word for the in strákurinn and biðstofunni?

Icelandic does not normally use a separate article like English the. Instead, it adds a definite ending to the noun:

• Masculine: strákur → strákurinn (the boy)
• Feminine: biðstofa → biðstofan (the waiting room, nominative)
• Dative feminine definite: biðstofu → biðstofunni

So -inn and -unni are functioning as the.
That is why you do not see a separate little word meaning the in the sentence.

What tense/aspect is grætur? Does it mean cries or is crying?

Grætur is the simple present tense of gráta (to cry):

• hann grætur = he cries or he is crying

Icelandic does not distinguish as strictly as English between simple and continuous in the present. Context decides:

• With stundum (sometimes), it describes a repeated/habitual action:
  • Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni.
    = The boy sometimes cries in the waiting room.

If you specifically want the English-style is crying (right now), you can also use:

• Strákurinn er að gráta. = The boy is crying.

But with stundum, the simple present grætur already works very naturally.

Why is the word order Strákurinn grætur stundum... and not Strákurinn stundum grætur...?

In a normal main clause, Icelandic strongly prefers the finite verb in second position (the “V2” rule):

1. First position: usually the subject (Strákurinn)
2. Second position: the finite verb (grætur)
3. Then come adverbs like stundum

So:

• ✅ Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni. (natural)
• ❌ Strákurinn stundum grætur í biðstofunni. (sounds wrong/unnatural)

You can move stundum to the front for emphasis:

• Stundum grætur strákurinn í biðstofunni.
  = Sometimes, the boy cries in the waiting room. (focus on sometimes)

But the verb grætur still stays in second position.

Where else can stundum go in the sentence, and does the meaning change?

Common natural options:

1. Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni.
   = neutral word order, light emphasis on the boy.

2. Stundum grætur strákurinn í biðstofunni.
   = puts more emphasis on sometimes (similar to English Sometimes the boy cries...).

Both mean the same basic thing: the boy occasionally cries there. The difference is more about emphasis / information structure than about grammar or core meaning.

Why is it í biðstofunni and not just í biðstofa or í biðstofu?

Three things are happening in í biðstofunni:

1. The preposition í

   • When it means in (location, not movement), í takes the dative case.

2. The noun in the right case

   • biðstofa (waiting room, nominative)
   • Dative singular indefinite: biðstofu

3. Definite ending in dative

   • Dative definite feminine singular of biðstofa is biðstofunni
     (stem biðstofu-
     • ending -nni).

So:

• í biðstofu = in a waiting room (indefinite, dative)
• í biðstofunni = in the waiting room (definite, dative)

Your sentence uses the waiting room, so it must be í biðstofunni.

What exactly does the ending -unni in biðstofunni express?

The ending -unni on biðstofunni expresses two things at once:

1. Definiteness (the)

   • It turns biðstofa (waiting room) into the waiting room.

2. Case (dative singular feminine)

   • Required because the preposition í with a location meaning (“in”) governs the dative.

Pattern for a typical weak feminine noun like biðstofa:

• Nominative: biðstofan (the waiting room – subject)
• Accusative: biðstofuna
• Dative: biðstofunni ← used after í here
• Genitive: biðstofunnar

So -unni is “dative + definite” in one.

How would the sentence change if I wanted a boy and a waiting room, not the boy and the waiting room?

Indefinite (no the):

• Strákur grætur stundum í biðstofu.
  = A boy sometimes cries in a waiting room.

Changes:

• strákurinn → strákur (drop the definite ending)
• biðstofunni → biðstofu (dative singular indefinite)

The verb and stundum remain the same.

How do you pronounce Strákurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni?

Approximate pronunciation (not strict IPA, but close enough for an English speaker):

• Strákurinn ≈ STRAW-kur-in

  • á like ow in cow, but shorter and tenser
  • stress on the first syllable: STRÁ-kur-inn

• grætur ≈ GRY-tur

  • æ like the vowel in eye
  • r is tapped or rolled

• stundum ≈ STOON-dum

  • u like the u in put or book (but a bit tenser)
  • stress on STUN

• í ≈ ee in see

• biðstofunni ≈ BITH-sto-vu-nni

  • ð is a soft th as in this
  • o similar to aw in law (depending on accent)
  • nn often pronounced like dn or tn in fast speech
  • primary stress on BIÐ, secondary on STO

Very rough overall: STRAW-kur-in GRY-tur STUN-dum ee BITH-sto-vu-nni.

What’s the difference between gráta and grætur?

• gráta is the infinitive: to cry

  • You’ll see it after að: að gráta = to cry

• grætur is the 3rd person singular present form: he/she/it cries

  • hann grætur = he cries / he is crying

A few more forms for context:

• ég græt = I cry
• við grátum = we cry
• þeir gráta = they cry

The vowel change (á → æ) is a typical strong-verb pattern in Icelandic.

Can strákurinn be replaced with another word for boy, and would the sentence change in meaning?

Yes. A common synonym for strákur is drengur.

• Drengurinn grætur stundum í biðstofunni.

Both mean roughly The boy sometimes cries in the waiting room.

Nuance:

• strákur is very common and slightly more colloquial / everyday.
• drengur can sound a bit more formal or old-fashioned in some contexts, but it’s still normal Icelandic.

Grammatically, everything else stays the same.