Bækurnar eru á hillunni fyrir ofan rúmið.

to be

Breakdown of Bækurnar eru á hillunni fyrir ofan rúmið.

• bókin: the book
• á: on
• fyrir ofan: above

Questions & Answers about Bækurnar eru á hillunni fyrir ofan rúmið.

Why is it Bækurnar and not just bækur?

Bækur is the indefinite plural form of bók (book) → bækur = books.
Bækurnar adds the definite ending -nar, so it means the books.

Icelandic doesn’t use a separate word like the; instead, the definite article is a suffix:

• singular: bók → bókin = the book
• plural: bækur → bækurnar = the books

There’s also a vowel change (ó → æ) when going from bók to bækur/bækurnar. That’s a regular sound change pattern in many Icelandic noun plurals.

Why is it eru and not er?

Both are forms of vera (to be):

• er = is / am (3rd person singular, also 1st singular)
• eru = are (3rd person plural)

Since the subject Bækurnar is plural (the books), the verb must also be plural: Bækurnar eru… = The books are…

What does á hillunni mean, and why is hillunni in that form?