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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný. - The stove in the kitchen is new.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Lesson 23
/Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.

Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.

Word

Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.

Meaning

The stove in the kitchen is new.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Icelandic

Lesson

Breakdown of Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.

Questions & Answers about Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.

Why is there no separate word for “the” in the sentence? Why is it eldavélin and not the eldavél?

Icelandic does not normally use a separate word for “the”.
Instead, definiteness is shown with an article ending attached to the noun:

eldavél = stove / cooker (indefinite: a stove)
eldavélin = the stove (definite)

For feminine nouns like eldavél, the singular definite article is -in:

eldavél → eldavélin (the stove)

So eldavélin literally means stove-the, which is how Icelandic expresses the stove.

Why is the subject eldavélin and not just eldavél?

Using eldavélin (definite) instead of eldavél (indefinite) matches the meaning “the stove in the kitchen is new.”

Eldavél í eldhúsinu er ný.
= A stove in the kitchen is new. (There is at least one; one of them is new.)
Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.
= The stove in the kitchen is new. (Both speaker and listener know which one.)

Since we’re talking about a specific, known stove, Icelandic uses the definite form eldavélin.

What is eldavélin made up of? Is it a compound word?

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Yes, eldavélin is a compound with an article ending:

elda – from the verb að elda, to cook
vél – machine
→ eldavél – literally cooking-machine, i.e. stove / cooker
- -in – feminine definite ending
  → eldavélin – the stove / the cooker

So the structure is: elda + vél + in → eldavélin.

What grammatical case are eldavélin and eldhúsinu in, and why?

eldavélin is in the nominative singular.
It’s the subject of the sentence: The stove … is new.
eldhúsinu is in the dative singular.
It follows the preposition í (in), which takes the dative when expressing a location (where something is).

So:

Eldavélin (nom.) = the stove (subject)
í eldhúsinu (dative) = in the kitchen (location phrase with í
- dative)

Why is it eldhúsinu and not just eldhús?

Two things are happening in eldhúsinu:

Case:
The preposition í (in) takes the dative case for location.
- eldhús (nom./acc.)
- eldhúsi (dat. sg., indefinite)
Definite article:
We mean the kitchen, not just a kitchen.
For neuter nouns in the dative singular, the definite article is -nu or -inu:
- eldhúsi → eldhúsinu (in the kitchen)

So í eldhúsinu literally corresponds to in-the kitchen.

Why does í take the dative here? How does í work with cases?

The preposition í (in / into) can govern two different cases, depending on meaning:

Dative – for location (no movement):
- Eldavélin er í eldhúsinu.
  The stove is in the kitchen.
Accusative – for movement into something:
- Ég fer í eldhúsið.
  I go into the kitchen.

In Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný, the phrase í eldhúsinu tells us where the stove is (location, not motion), so í takes the dative: eldhúsinu.

What gender are eldavél and eldhús, and why does that matter?

eldavél is feminine.
That’s why its definite ending is -in → eldavélin (the stove).
eldhús is neuter.
In the dative singular definite, it becomes eldhúsinu (in the kitchen).

Gender matters because it affects:

The definite endings:
- fem. nom. sg. definite: -in → eldavélin
- neut. dat. sg. definite: -inu → eldhúsinu
The forms of adjectives that agree with these nouns (see next question).

Why is the adjective ný and not nýja or nýr?

Two key points: position and agreement.

Position / function
- When an adjective comes before a definite noun, it usually takes a special definite/“weak” form:
  - nýja eldavélin – the new stove (adjective inside the noun phrase)
- When an adjective comes after the verb (is, are) as a description, it usually takes the basic (“strong”) form, even if the noun is definite:
  - Eldavélin er ný. – The stove is new.
Our sentence uses the second pattern: is new → predicative adjective → ný.
Agreement in gender and number
- eldavélin is feminine singular.
- The basic feminine singular nominative form of nýr (new) is ný.

So:

Eldavélin er ný. – The stove is new. (feminine, predicative)
sá nýi ofn – the new oven (masculine, attributive, weak form)
nýja eldavélin – the new stove (feminine, attributive, weak form)

Could the word order be Eldavélin er ný í eldhúsinu instead? Is that wrong or different?

Eldavélin er ný í eldhúsinu is grammatically correct, but it has a slightly different feel.

Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.
- The phrase í eldhúsinu is tightly attached to eldavélin.
- It answers which stove? → the stove that is in the kitchen.
- Roughly: The stove in the kitchen is new.
Eldavélin er ný í eldhúsinu.
- Here í eldhúsinu sounds more like it modifies er ný, i.e. where it is new.
- In everyday speech it will usually still be understood the same way, but it can sound more like:
  - The stove is new in the kitchen (e.g. as opposed to somewhere else).

In practice, the original order Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný is the most natural way to say The stove in the kitchen is new.

Does eldavél mean “stove” or “oven”? How is it used in Icelandic?

eldavél usually means the whole cooking appliance: the thing you cook on/in in the kitchen, i.e. a stove / cooker (often including both hobs and oven).

Other related words:

ofn – oven (specifically the oven compartment, but can also mean radiator in other contexts)
helluborð – hob / cooktop (the surface with the burners or plates)
eldavél – overall stove / cooker appliance

In everyday speech, eldavél is a good general word when you mean the main kitchen stove.

How would the sentence change if there were several stoves: “The stoves in the kitchen are new”?

You would make both the noun and the verb plural, and the adjective would agree:

Eldavélarnar í eldhúsinu eru nýjar.

Breakdown:

eldavélarnar – the stoves (feminine, nominative plural definite)
eru – are (3rd person plural of að vera, to be)
nýjar – new (feminine, nominative plural form of nýr)

So singular vs. plural:

Eldavélin í eldhúsinu er ný.
Eldavélarnar í eldhúsinu eru nýjar.

How is eldhúsinu pronounced, especially the ldh cluster?

A simple approximation (not strict IPA):

eldhúsinu ≈ “ELT-hoo-si-nu”

Details:

el – like “el” in “elf”
d often becomes more like a t in this cluster, so eld sounds close to “elt”
hús – like “hoos” (long ú, similar to “oo” in “food”)
-inu – roughly “i-nu”, with i as in “bit”, and u like a short, rounded “oo”

So you can think: ELT-hoos-i-nu, said fairly smoothly: [ELT-hoo-si-nu].

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