Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Eitt starf í auglýsingunni hljómar mjög spennandi fyrir hana. - One job in the advertisement sounds very exciting for her.

Icelandic has no separate word for the indefinite article “a/an”, so numerals like einn / ein / eitt are often used where English would say “a/an”, especially when we want to single one item out of several options, as in this advertisement context.

Why is it Eitt starf and not Einn starf?

Because the number has to agree with the gender of the noun:

einn – masculine
ein – feminine
eitt – neuter

The noun starf (“job”) is neuter, so we must say eitt starf.
If it were a masculine noun, like bíll (“car”), we’d say einn bíll; for a feminine noun like bók (“book”), we’d say ein bók.

What is the difference between starf and vinna? Don’t they both mean “job” or “work”?

Both are related to work, but they’re used a bit differently:

starf
- mostly means “position” / “job” in the sense of a post or role
- common in formal or semi-formal contexts: atvinnuauglýsingar (job ads), contracts, job titles
- e.g. starf kennara – “the position of teacher”
vinna
- means “work” in general, and also “a job” in everyday speech
- also the verb að vinna = “to work” / “to win”
- e.g. Ég er að leita að vinnu. – “I’m looking for (a) work / a job.”

In a written job advertisement, starf is the more typical word for a specific advertised position.

Why is it í auglýsingunni and not some other case? What does the -unni ending mean?

The preposition í (“in, into”) can take either the dative or accusative case:

í + dative = location (where something is) → “in”
í + accusative = motion (where something goes into) → “into”

Here we are talking about where the job is listed: in the advertisement, so we use dative.

The noun is auglýsing (feminine, “advertisement”). Its definite dative singular form is:

nominative singular: auglýsing – “advertisement”
dative singular definite: auglýsingunni – “in the advertisement”

So í auglýsingunni literally = “in the advertisement”.

How is the definite article formed in auglýsingunni? Why is it stuck to the end?

In Icelandic, the definite article (“the”) is usually attached as a suffix to the noun, not written as a separate word.

For auglýsing (feminine):

auglýsing – an advertisement
auglýsingin – the advertisement (nominative)
auglýsingunni – the advertisement (dative, definite)

So instead of í the advertisement, Icelandic says í auglýsingunni, where -inni / -unni is the definite ending in dative singular.

What does hljómar mean, and why is it used instead of something like “seems”?

Hljómar is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb að hljóma, which literally means “to sound” (as in sound pleasant, sound exciting).

The construction hljóma + lýsingarorð (“sound + adjective”) is very close to English:

hljómar spennandi – “sounds exciting”
hljómar undarlegt – “sounds strange”

English often uses “sounds” or “seems” in this context; Icelandic can also use virðast (“seem”), but hljómar spennandi is natural when talking about how something sounds as it is described in an ad.

So the sentence is literally: “One job in the advertisement sounds very exciting for her.”

Why is spennandi not changing form to agree with starf? Shouldn’t it have an ending?

Spennandi is a present participle (from að spenna, “to excite”) used as an adjective. In Icelandic, participles ending in -andi are indeclinable in modern usage when used like this—meaning they do not change for gender, number, or case.

So you say:

spennandi starf – an exciting job
spennandi mynd – an exciting movie
spennandi störf – exciting jobs

The word spennandi stays the same in all of these; it doesn’t take endings the way a normal adjective like spennandi’s alternative spennurík(ur) would.

What is the role of fyrir hana here? And why is it hana (accusative) and not henni (dative)?

Fyrir is a preposition that can take either accusative or dative, depending on meaning. With the sense of “for (someone’s benefit / in someone’s opinion)”, it usually takes the accusative.

fyrir hana – “for her / in her view / from her perspective” (accusative)
fyrir hann – “for him”
fyrir mig – “for me”

Henni is the dative form of “she/her” and would be used with meanings like “in front of her” or in certain fixed expressions:

fyrir framan hana – in front of her
fyrir henni can mean “before her” in a more literal spatial or formal sense.

In this sentence, fyrir hana is about how exciting it is for her, so accusative is correct.

What are the full forms of the pronoun that gives hana?

The personal pronoun for “she/her” is hún. Its singular forms are:

Nominative (subject): hún – “she”
Accusative (direct object etc.): hana – “her”
Dative (indirect object etc.): henni – “her / to her”
Genitive (possessive, rare as a free form): hennar – “her (of her)”

In fyrir hana, the preposition fyrir governs the accusative, so we use hana.

Is the word order Eitt starf í auglýsingunni hljómar mjög spennandi fyrir hana flexible, or is this the only correct order?

Icelandic word order is relatively flexible, but there are constraints. The basic structure here is:

Subject: Eitt starf í auglýsingunni
Verb: hljómar
Adverb + complement: mjög spennandi fyrir hana

Variations are possible, especially for emphasis, for example:

Í auglýsingunni hljómar eitt starf mjög spennandi fyrir hana.
– “In the advertisement, one job sounds very exciting for her.” (emphasis on “in the advertisement”)
Eitt starf í auglýsingunni hljómar fyrir hana mjög spennandi.
– possible, but less natural; adverbs usually stay closer to the adjective.

The given sentence has a clear, neutral word order and is the most straightforward version.

Could you say Eitt starf í auglýsingunni virðist mjög spennandi fyrir hana instead? What’s the difference between hljómar and virðist?

Yes, Eitt starf í auglýsingunni virðist mjög spennandi fyrir hana is also correct.

hljómar – “sounds” (based on how it is described, how it comes across)
virðist (from að virðast) – “seems / appears” (more general impression)

Using hljómar hints that she is judging the job from how it is presented (e.g. how the ad sounds).
Using virðist is a bit more neutral and can be based on general impression, not specifically on how it “sounds”.

Both are natural; hljómar spennandi is slightly more vivid and idiomatic in the context of reading or hearing a job ad.

How is Eitt starf í auglýsingunni hljómar mjög spennandi fyrir hana pronounced, especially hljómar and eitt?

A rough phonetic guide (not exact IPA, but close enough to help):

Eitt – [eitʰ]
- ei like English “day”,
- tt has a little pre-aspiration: a brief [h]-like sound before the [t].
starf – [starv]
- final f often sounds like [v].
í – [iː] (long “ee”)
auglýsingunni – roughly [ˈœiɣlɪˌsiŋkʏnɪ]
- au like a mix between “ö” and “i”: [œi]
- g here is a soft [ɣ] sound
- stress on the first syllable: AUG-lýsingunni.
hljómar – [ˈl̥joumar]
- hl is a voiceless l; it sounds like l with a bit of breath at the start
- hj / hjó sounds like “hyo” in “hyoo” (but with Icelandic vowels)
mjög – [mjœːɣ]
- “myœg”, with the last consonant a soft [ɣ].
spennandi – [ˈspɛnːantɪ]
- double nn is a long [nː].
fyrir – [ˈfɪːrɪr]
hana – [ˈhaːna]

Main stress is always on the first syllable of each word in Icelandic.