Word
Stiginn verður mjög sleipur þegar það rignir mikið.
Meaning
The stairs become very slippery when it rains a lot.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Stiginn verður mjög sleipur þegar það rignir mikið.
það
it
mjög
very
þegar
when
verða
to become
Questions & Answers about Stiginn verður mjög sleipur þegar það rignir mikið.
Why does stiginn end in -inn, and what does it mean exactly?
The base noun is stigi (masculine), which means something like stair / staircase / stairway.
In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun:
- stigi = a stair / stairway
- stiginn = the stair / the stairway
The -inn ending is the definite article for masculine singular nominative. So stiginn literally means the stair / the staircase, even though in English we usually talk about the stairs in the plural.
Why is it stiginn verður and not stiginn er?
Icelandic distinguishes between:
- vera = to be (a state)
- verða = to become, to get, to turn (a change)
In the sentence, we’re talking about a change that happens when it rains: the stairs become slippery, they get slippery. That’s why you use verða:
- stiginn er sleipur = the stairs are slippery (describing a state)
- stiginn verður sleipur = the stairs become slippery (describing a change)
What grammatical case is stiginn in, and why?