Fuglarnir sitja í trénu og syngja á morgnana.

The birds sit in the tree and sing in the mornings.

Breakdown of Fuglarnir sitja í trénu og syngja á morgnana.

• syngja: to sing
• í: in
• sitja: to sit
• og: and
• á: in
• morguninn: the morning
• tréð: the tree
• fuglinn: the bird

Questions & Answers about Fuglarnir sitja í trénu og syngja á morgnana.

How is “the” expressed in this sentence? I don’t see a separate word like the.

Icelandic does not usually have a separate word for “the”.
Instead, the definite article is attached to the end of the noun as a suffix.

In this sentence:

• fuglar = birds
  fuglarnir = the birds ( -nir is the definite plural ending)
• tré = tree
  trénu = in the tree ( -nu is the dative singular definite ending)
• morgnar / morgna = mornings
  morgnana = the mornings (here: accusative plural definite)

So “the” is built into fuglarnir, trénu, and morgnana rather than being a separate word.

What is the difference between fuglar and fuglarnir?

Both come from the noun fugl (bird):

• fuglar = birds (indefinite, just “birds” in general)
• fuglarnir = the birds (definite, a specific group, or birds that are known from context)

So:

• Fuglar sitja í trénu…
  could mean Birds sit in the tree… (some birds, unspecified)

• Fuglarnir sitja í trénu…
  means The birds sit in the tree… (we assume the listener knows which birds).

Why is it í trénu and not í tréð or just í tré?

All three forms are possible Icelandic, but they mean different things because of case and definiteness:

• tré = tree (nominative/accusative singular, indefinite)
• tréð = the tree (nominative/accusative singular definite)
• trénu = the tree (dative singular definite)

The preposition í (“in”) uses different cases:

• Í + accusative → motion into something
  
  • Hann klifrar upp í tréð. = He climbs into the tree.
• Í + dative → location in something (no movement)
  
  • Fuglarnir sitja í trénu. = The birds are in the tree.

Here, the birds are just located in the tree, so í trénu (dative definite) is correct.

Why do Icelanders say “in the tree” (í trénu) for birds, not “on the tree” (á trénu)?

For things that are inside the branches / foliage of a tree, Icelandic normally uses í (“in”) rather than á (“on”):

• Fuglarnir sitja í trénu. = The birds sit in the tree.
• Epli eru í trénu. = The apples are in the tree.

You would use á (“on”) if something is literally on the surface:

• Kötturinn situr á trénu. = The cat sits on the tree (e.g. perched on the trunk).

So for birds among the branches, í trénu is the natural choice.

What exactly does á morgnana mean, and why is it plural?

Á morgnana literally means “on the mornings”, but idiomatically it means:

• “in the mornings” / “on (the) mornings” / “every morning” (habitually)

Grammar-wise:

• morgunn = morning
• plural accusative indefinite: morgna
• plural accusative definite: morgnana

The phrase á + accusative plural definite is a common way to express repeated times:

• á morgnana = in the mornings
• á kvöldin = in the evenings
• á dagana = in the days / during the days

So á morgnana tells you this is something that happens regularly, not just once.

Could I say “á morgnunum” or “um morgnana” instead of “á morgnana”?

You can say these, but they are slightly different in feel:

• á morgnana

  • most common for habits: in the mornings / every morning
  • á + accusative plural definite (morgnana)

• um morgnana

  • also “in the mornings / around morning time”
  • um + accusative plural definite
  • often has a sense of “around / during” that time

• á morgnunum

  • á + dative plural definite (morgnunum)
  • can also mean “on the mornings”, but sounds a bit more concrete / specific, less like a fixed idiom of habit than á morgnana.

In this generic habitual sentence, á morgnana is the most natural choice.

Why do sitja and syngja both end in -ja here? Are these infinitives or present tense forms?

Both sitja (to sit) and syngja (to sing) are shown in the 3rd person plural present tense here, but their forms happen to be the same as the infinitive.

For sitja:

• infinitive: að sitja = to sit
• ég sit = I sit
• við sitjum = we sit
• þeir sitja = they sit

For syngja:

• infinitive: að syngja = to sing
• ég syng = I sing
• við syngjum = we sing
• þeir syngja = they sing

In the sentence, the subject fuglarnir (the birds) is 3rd person plural, so:

• fuglarnir sitja = the birds sit
• (fuglarnir) syngja = (the birds) sing

You know these are finite verbs (not infinitives) because they come right after the subject and function as the main verbs of the clause.

In English I might say “The birds are sitting in the tree”. Why is Icelandic just sitja?

Icelandic does not have a separate “progressive” tense like English are sitting / are singing.

The simple present in Icelandic can cover:

• English simple present:
  
  • Fuglarnir syngja á morgnana.
    = The birds sing in the mornings.
• English present continuous:
  
  • Fuglarnir sitja í trénu.
    = The birds are sitting in the tree.

So sitja here can be translated as either sit or are sitting, depending on context. There’s no need for an extra auxiliary like to be + -ing.

Can I move parts of the sentence around, like Á morgnana sitja fuglarnir í trénu og syngja?

Yes. Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbials like time and place.

All of these are grammatical:

• Fuglarnir sitja í trénu og syngja á morgnana.
• Á morgnana sitja fuglarnir í trénu og syngja.
• Fuglarnir sitja á morgnana í trénu og syngja. (a bit less natural, but possible)

Two main rules to keep in mind:

1. In a main clause, the finite verb (here sitja) should normally be in second position:

   • Á morgnana (1st position) sitja (2nd) fuglarnir…

2. Related elements like í trénu (place) and á morgnana (time) can usually be reordered without changing the core meaning, though some orders sound more natural than others.

Could I say “Fuglarnir eru í trénu og syngja á morgnana” instead of “sitja í trénu”?

Yes, but it changes the nuance slightly.

• Fuglarnir sitja í trénu…
  focuses on the posture: they are sitting in the tree (perched).

• Fuglarnir eru í trénu…
  just says they are in the tree (located there), without specifying whether they sit, stand, fly, etc.

Both are grammatical, but sitja is more specific and evocative in describing what the birds are doing.

Why is it og syngja á morgnana and not og syngja á morgnum or something similar?

Two separate points here:

1. og syngja

   • og = and
   • The second verb syngja shares the same subject (fuglarnir) as sitja, so you don’t repeat the subject:
     • Fuglarnir sitja í trénu og syngja…
       = The birds sit in the tree and (they) sing…

2. á morgnana

   • As explained earlier, á + accusative plural definite (morgnana) is the idiomatic way to say “in the mornings / every morning.”
   • Forms like á morgnum / á morgnum would use the dative and sound less idiomatic for this habitual meaning.

So og syngja á morgnana is the standard way to say “and sing in the mornings.”