Breakdown of Fuglinn fyrir utan gluggann syngur stundum hátt.
syngja
to sing
stundum
sometimes
glugginn
the window
hátt
loudly
Questions & Answers about Fuglinn fyrir utan gluggann syngur stundum hátt.
Why is it fuglinn and not just fugl for “the bird”?
Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun, not as a separate word like English the.
- fugl = a bird (indefinite, nominative singular)
- fuglinn = the bird (definite, nominative singular)
The -inn ending is the masculine definite article in this form.
So Fuglinn is literally bird-the → the bird.
What is the base form of gluggann, and why does it look like that?
The base (dictionary) form is gluggi (a window, nominative singular).
Declension (masculine, strong):
- Nominative singular: gluggi – a window
- Accusative singular: glugga – a window (object)
- Definite accusative singular: gluggann = glugga + inn → consonants assimilate and you get -gann.
In this sentence, fyrir utan (“outside (of)”) is a preposition that takes the accusative, so the window must be in accusative: gluggann.
What exactly is fyrir utan? Is it one word or two, and what does it do grammatically?