Góð reynsla í vinnu gefur henni meira sjálfstraust.

good

Breakdown of Góð reynsla í vinnu gefur henni meira sjálfstraust.

• vinna: the work
• í: at
• gefa: to give

Questions & Answers about Góð reynsla í vinnu gefur henni meira sjálfstraust.

Why is it góð reynsla and not góða reynslu in this sentence?

Because góð reynsla is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.

• reynsla = “experience”, feminine singular

  • nominative: reynsla
  • accusative: reynslu
  • dative: reynslu
  • genitive: reynslu

• The adjective góður “good” agrees with reynsla:

  • feminine nominative singular: góð
  • feminine accusative/dative/genitive singular: góða

Here, experience is what does the action of giving (it “gives her more confidence”), so it’s the subject and must be nominative:

• Góð reynsla í vinnu gefur henni meira sjálfstraust.
  → Good experience at work gives her more self-confidence.

If reynsla were an object, you’d expect góða reynslu, but it isn’t here.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” in góð reynsla?

Icelandic has no indefinite article (“a / an”), and the definite article is usually a suffix attached to the noun (or sometimes a separate word).

• góð reynsla = “good experience” / “good work experience” (general)
• góða reynslan = “the good experience” (a specific one)

In this sentence, the idea is general: . So no article is used: