Questions & Answers about Tíminn er stuttur í dag.
Why is it tíminn and not just tími?
Tími is the basic (indefinite) noun meaning time. Icelandic usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.
- tími = time
- tíminn = the time
In this sentence, you are talking about the available time today (a specific, understood amount of time), so Icelandic naturally uses the definite form tíminn.
What are the grammatical features of tíminn (gender, number, case)?
tíminn is:
- gender: masculine
- number: singular
- case: nominative (because it’s the subject of the sentence)
You can think of it as “the time” in the subject position: Tíminn (subject) er stuttur.
How is tími declined, and how do we get the form tíminn?
The noun tími (m.) has the following main forms:
- nominative sg.: tími
- accusative sg.: tíma
- dative sg.: tíma
- genitive sg.: tíma
Definite nominative singular adds -inn (with some sound adjustment):