Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Barnið situr við skrifborðið og teiknar leikfang. - The child sits at the desk and draws a toy.

Using er að sitja is possible but less common, because sitja describes more of a state than a dynamic action. So the plain present situr feels more natural in most contexts.

What does the -ið ending in Barnið mean, and what gender/case is this form?

Barnið is:

from the noun barn – child
neuter, singular, nominative
with the definite article attached: -ið = “the”

So:

barn = child
barnið = the child (subject of the sentence)

In Icelandic, the definite article is normally a suffix, not a separate word like English the.

What is the infinitive of situr, and how is sitja conjugated in the present tense?

The infinitive is sitja – to sit.

Present tense of sitja:

(ég) sit – I sit / am sitting
(þú) situr – you sit / are sitting
(hann / hún / það / barnið) situr – he / she / it / the child sits / is sitting
(við) sitjum – we sit / are sitting
(þið) sitjið – you (pl.) sit / are sitting
(þau / þau börn) sitja – they sit / are sitting

In the sentence, situr is 3rd person singular present, agreeing with Barnið (the child).

What about teiknar – what is the infinitive, and is it a regular verb?

The infinitive is teikna – to draw (a picture, etc.).

It is a regular (weak) verb.

Present tense of teikna:

(ég) teikna – I draw / am drawing
(þú) teiknar – you draw / are drawing
(hann / hún / það / barnið) teiknar – he / she / it / the child draws / is drawing
(við) teiknum – we draw / are drawing
(þið) teiknið – you (pl.) draw / are drawing
(þau) teikna – they draw / are drawing

In the sentence, teiknar is 3rd person singular present, matching the same subject Barnið.

What does the preposition við mean here, and which case does it take?

The preposition við most often takes the accusative case.

Its main meanings include:

by, at, next to: við borðið – by/at the table
against: við vegginn – against the wall
sometimes with (in certain expressions)

In Barnið situr við skrifborðið, við means something like:

“by / at (the side of) the desk”

So it requires skrifborðið in the accusative.

Why is it skrifborðið and not skrifborðinu or just skrifborð?

The noun is skrifborð – desk, writing desk (neuter).

Case:
- The preposition við governs the accusative.
- For a neuter noun like skrifborð, the nominative and accusative singular have the same form: skrifborð.
Definiteness:
- We want “the desk”, not just “a desk”.
- The neuter definite singular ending in nom/acc is -ið.
- So skrifborð + ið → skrifborðið = the desk (accusative).
Why not skrifborðinu?
- -inu would be dative definite (á skrifborðinu – on the desk).
- But við does not take the dative in this basic spatial sense.

So við skrifborðið = at/by the desk (accusative, definite), which is exactly what we need.

How is skrifborð declined?

Skrifborð is a neuter noun. Key singular forms:

Indefinite singular
- Nominative: skrifborð – a desk
- Accusative: skrifborð
- Dative: skrifborði
- Genitive: skrifborðs
Definite singular
- Nominative: skrifborðið – the desk
- Accusative: skrifborðið
- Dative: skrifborðinu
- Genitive: skrifborðsins

In the sentence, we have the accusative definite singular: skrifborðið.

Why doesn’t leikfang have a definite ending like Barnið and skrifborðið?

Because in this sentence it is indefinite: “a toy”, not “the toy”.

leikfang = a toy
leikfangið = the toy

The speaker is just saying that the child is drawing some toy, not referring to a specific toy that both speaker and listener already know about.

So leikfang has no definite suffix here on purpose.

What case is leikfang in, and how would “the toy” or “toys” look?

Leikfang is:

neuter, singular, accusative, indefinite
It is the direct object of teiknar (draws).

For many neuter nouns, nominative and accusative singular are identical when indefinite, so:

Nominative singular: leikfang – a toy
Accusative singular: leikfang – a toy (as object)

To talk about definiteness and plural:

leikfangið – the toy (nom/acc singular, definite)
leikföng – toys (nom/acc plural, indefinite)
leikföngin – the toys (nom/acc plural, definite)

So examples:

Barnið teiknar leikfang. – The child draws a toy.
Barnið teiknar leikfangið. – The child draws the toy.
Barnið teiknar leikföng. – The child draws toys.
Barnið teiknar leikföngin. – The child draws the toys.

Why don’t we repeat the subject with the second verb (why not Barnið situr … og barnið teiknar …)?

In Icelandic (as in English), when two verbs share the same subject, you normally:

state the subject once,
then coordinate the verbs with og (and).

So:

Barnið situr við skrifborðið og teiknar leikfang.
= The child sits at the desk and draws a toy.

Repeating Barnið:

Barnið situr við skrifborðið og barnið teiknar leikfang.

would be grammatically possible, but it usually sounds heavy or emphatic, as if you were stressing each clause separately or contrasting subjects (which you’re not doing here). The natural style is to mention the subject only once.

Can the word order be changed? For example, is Barnið situr og teiknar við skrifborðið also correct?

Yes, that is correct, but there is a small nuance:

Barnið situr við skrifborðið og teiknar leikfang.
Literally: The child sits *by the desk and draws a toy.
– The phrase *við skrifborðið is attached most clearly to situr (sits), but in context it usually describes the place where both actions happen.
Barnið situr og teiknar við skrifborðið.
– Now við skrifborðið more clearly modifies the whole verb phrase “sits and draws”: the child sits and draws at the desk.

Both are natural, and in everyday speech both will usually be understood to mean that the child is at the desk for both actions.

You could also front the prepositional phrase (keeping verb-second order):

Við skrifborðið situr barnið og teiknar leikfang.
At the desk sits the child and draws a toy.

This is more stylistic/literary, but grammatically fine.

How would the sentence change if there were multiple children or multiple toys?

Multiple children, one desk, one toy each (or unspecified):
- Börnin sitja við skrifborðið og teikna leikfang.
  The children sit at the (one) desk and draw a toy.
Here:
- börnin = the children (nom. pl. definite of börn, from barn)
- sitja, teikna = 3rd person plural forms.
Multiple children and multiple desks:
- Börnin sitja við skrifborðin og teikna leikfang.
  The children sit at the desks and draw a toy.
Multiple toys:
- Barnið situr við skrifborðið og teiknar leikföng.
  The child sits at the desk and draws toys.
- Börnin sitja við skrifborðið og teikna leikföng.
  The children sit at the desk and draw toys.
Specific toys:
- Barnið situr við skrifborðið og teiknar leikfangið. – …draws the toy.
- Barnið situr við skrifborðið og teiknar leikföngin. – …draws the toys.

How do you pronounce ð in Barnið and skrifborðið?

The letter ð is usually pronounced like the English “th” in “this” (voiced, not like “th” in “thing”).

In these words:

Barnið
- Rough English-friendly approximation: [BAR-nith]
- The ð at the end is a soft, voiced “th” sound; in fast speech it can be quite weak.
skrifborðið
- Approximation: [SKRIF-bor-thith] (with a rolled or tapped r)
- The ð between vowels is clearly that “th in this” sound: -or-ð-i-.

So you can think of ð here as a soft “th” sound, never like an English d.