Hann les íslenskar bækur.

to read

Breakdown of Hann les íslenskar bækur.

• bókin: the book
• íslenskur: Icelandic
• hann: it

Questions & Answers about Hann les íslenskar bækur.

What are the basic (dictionary) forms of each word in Hann les íslenskar bækur, and what grammatical roles do they have?

Word by word:

• Hann – pronoun, 3rd person singular masculine nominative. Basic form is hann (“he”). It is the subject.
• les – verb form from the infinitive að lesa (“to read”). Here les is 3rd person singular present indicative (“reads”). It is the main verb.
• íslenskar – adjective from the basic form íslenskur (“Icelandic”). Here it is feminine accusative plural to agree with bækur. It modifies bækur.
• bækur – noun, plural of bók (“book”). Here bækur is feminine accusative plural, functioning as the direct object of les.

Why is the verb les and not lesa or lesar?

Les is the correct present-tense form for he:

The verb að lesa (“to read”) in the present tense:

• ég les – I read
• þú lest – you read (sg.)
• hann / hún / það les – he / she / it reads
• við lesum – we read
• þið lesið – you read (pl.)
• þeir / þær / þau lesa – they read

So with hann (“he”), you must use , not or anything else.