Questions & Answers about Peysan hangir á stólnum.
What does peysan mean exactly, and why does it end in -an?
Peysan means “the sweater / the jumper.”
The base word is peysa = a sweater / jumper (indefinite).
Icelandic usually doesn’t use a separate word for “the”; instead it adds a definite ending to the noun:
- peysa = a sweater
- peysan = the sweater
So the -n (here as -an) is the definite article attached to the noun.
What gender and case is peysan, and what are its main forms?
Peysan is:
- Gender: feminine
- Number: singular
- Case: nominative (it’s the subject of the verb)
- Definiteness: definite (the sweater)
A small paradigm for peysa (“sweater”):
Indefinite (a sweater):
- Nominative: peysa – A sweater is on the chair.
- Accusative: peysu – Ég kaupi peysU. – I buy a sweater.
- Dative: peysu – Ég er í peysU. – I am in a sweater.
- Genitive: peysu – Litur peysU. – The colour of a sweater.
Definite (the sweater):
- Nominative: peysan – Peysan hangir á stólnum.
- Accusative: peysuna – Ég kaupi peysuna. – I buy the sweater.
- Dative: peysunni – Ég er í peysunni. – I am in the sweater.
- Genitive: peysunnar – Litur peysunnar. – The colour of the sweater.