Við lesum um listasafn á netinu.

We read about an art museum online.

Breakdown of Við lesum um listasafn á netinu.

• við: we
• lesa: to read
• á: on
• um: about
• netið: the internet
• listasafn: the art museum

Questions & Answers about Við lesum um listasafn á netinu.

What does lesum tell me about the subject and the tense in this sentence?

Lesum is the present tense, 1st person plural form of the verb lesa (to read).

• Ég les – I read
• Þú lest – You (sg.) read
• Hann/Hún/Það les – He/She/It reads
• Við lesum – We read
• Þið lesið – You (pl.) read
• Þeir/Þær/Þau lesa – They read

So lesum shows:

• Subject: we
• Tense: present (“read / are reading”)

In English we say “We are reading…”. Why is there no “are” in Icelandic?

Icelandic does not usually use a separate continuous tense like English am/is/are reading.

• English: We read / We are reading
• Icelandic: both are simply Við lesum

Context decides whether you mean a general habit (“we read”) or something happening now (“we are reading”). You only use vera (to be) + present participle in special cases, not as a normal continuous tense.

What does the preposition um mean here, and what case does it take?

In this sentence, um means about (as in “to read about something”).

Grammatically:

• um almost always takes the accusative case.

So the noun after um has to be in the accusative. Here that noun is listasafn, which is neuter, and in the singular the accusative form is the same as the nominative, so you don’t see a change in form.

If um takes the accusative, why doesn’t listasafn look different?

Because listasafn is a neuter noun whose nominative and accusative singular forms are identical:

• Nom./Acc. sg.: listasafn
• Dat. sg.: listasafni
• Gen. sg.: listasafns

So even though um requires the accusative, the form just happens to be the same, so you don’t see an ending change.

How is the word listasafn put together, and why is it lista- and not list-?

Listasafn is a compound noun:

• list – art
• safn – collection, museum

When list comes first in a compound, it usually appears in the genitive singular form lista- to show “museum of art”:

• list → lista-
  • safn → listasafn = “art museum”

This -a- in the middle (from the genitive lista) is very common in Icelandic compounds.

Why is there no word for “a” before listasafn?

Icelandic has no separate indefinite article (“a / an”).

• listasafn can mean “an art museum” or just “art museum” depending on context.
• A definite article (“the”) is expressed as a suffix on the noun:
  
  • listasafnið = the art museum

So Við lesum um listasafn… is understood as “We read / are reading about an art museum…”.

Why is it á netinu and not í netinu, or á internetinu?

A few points:

1. á vs í

   • á often translates as on,
   • í often as in.
     For “on the internet / online”, Icelandic uses á netinu, literally “on the net”.

2. netið vs internetið

   • net means net / web, and in modern use often just means “the internet”.
   • People do say internetið, but á netinu is the most natural everyday phrase for “on the internet/online”.

So á netinu is the standard idiomatic expression for “on the internet”.

What does the ending -inu in netinu mean?

Netinu is dative singular definite of net (neuter).

• Base form (nom./acc. sg.): net
• Dative sg.: neti
• Dative sg. definite: netinu

So -inu here:

• marks the dative case (required by á in a static location sense: “on” something),
• and adds the definite article: “the net” → “the internet” in meaning.

Why does netinu have the definite article, but listasafn does not?

Because they express definiteness differently here:

• á netinu = on the internet – this is usually thought of as a specific, well-known thing, so Icelandic naturally uses the definite form netinu (“the net”).
• listasafn without a suffix just means “an art museum” in a general, non-specific sense. If you meant a specific one, you’d say listasafnið.

So the sentence is like:

• We read about an art museum on the internet.

Can I change the word order of the two prepositional phrases, e.g. say Við lesum á netinu um listasafn?

Yes, that’s possible, and it’s still grammatical:

• Við lesum um listasafn á netinu.
• Við lesum á netinu um listasafn.

Both can mean the same thing. The original order (um listasafn before á netinu) might feel slightly more neutral, but both are acceptable. Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, as long as the verb stays in second position in a main clause.

How would I say “We read about the art museum on the internet” (a specific museum)?

You would make listasafn definite:

• Við lesum um listasafnið á netinu.

Here:

• listasafnið = the art museum (accusative singular definite)
• netinu is still the internet in the dative.

So the only change is listasafn → listasafnið.

How would I put this sentence in the past or future tense?

Starting from Við lesum um listasafn á netinu (present):

• Past tense (We read / were reading):

  • Við lásum um listasafn á netinu.
    
    • lásum is the past tense, 1st person plural of lesa.

• Future tense (We will read):
  Icelandic usually uses munu + infinitive for a clear future:

  • Við munum lesa um listasafn á netinu.
    
    • munum = we will
    • lesa = infinitive (“to read”)

So:

• Present: Við lesum…
• Past: Við lásum…
• Future: Við munum lesa…