Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum.

The farm is near the forest.

Breakdown of Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum.

• vera: to be
• nálægt: near
• skógurinn: the forest
• bóndabærinn: the farm

Questions & Answers about Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum.

What parts make up the word bóndabærinn?

Bóndabærinn is a compound with a definite ending:

• bónda – farmer’s (genitive singular of bóndi, farmer)
• bær – farm, farmhouse, homestead
• -inn – the definite article for masculine singular nominative (the)

So literally it is “the farmer’s farm/farmhouse” → bóndabærinn.

What are the dictionary forms and genders of bóndabærinn and skóginum?

You look nouns up in the nominative singular, indefinite form.

• bóndabærinn → dictionary form bóndabær
  
  • gender: masculine
• skóginum → dictionary form skógur
  
  • gender: masculine

In the sentence:

• bóndabærinn = nominative singular definite of bóndabær
• skóginum = dative singular definite of skógur

Why do we say bóndabærinn with -inn, and skóginum with -inum? How do the definite articles work here?

Icelandic usually attaches “the” directly to the end of the noun as a suffix, instead of using a separate word like English.

For masculine nouns, the common definite endings are:

• nominative singular: -inn
  
  • bóndabær → bóndabærinn (the farmhouse)
• dative singular: typically -inum (often written/realised as -num after certain consonants)
  
  • skógi (dative sg) + -num → skóginum (to/at/by the forest)

So:

• bóndabærinn: nominative masc sg definite (the farmhouse)
• skóginum: dative masc sg definite (the forest in a dative context)

Why is it skóginum and not skógurinn or just skógur?

Because of the preposition (or preposition‑like word) nálægt.

• nálægt governs the dative case.
• The noun that follows it must therefore be in the dative.

Declension of skógur (singular, masculine):

• nominative: skógur (a forest), skógurinn (the forest)
• dative: skógi (to/at a forest), skóginum (to/at the forest)

Since nálægt requires the dative, we must use skóginum, not skógurinn.

So:

• Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum.
  The farmhouse is near the forest.

Which cases are used in this sentence, and why?

The sentence is:

Bóndabærinn (NOM) er nálægt skóginum (DAT).

• Bóndabærinn – nominative: the subject of the sentence.
• skóginum – dative: object of nálægt, which requires the dative.

Structurewise:

• [subject in nominative] + er + nálægt + [noun in dative]
  = X is near Y.

What exactly is nálægt here? Is it an adjective or a preposition, and should it agree with bóndabærinn?

Historically, nálægt is related to the adjective nálægur (near), but in this common pattern:

• vera nálægt e-u – to be near something (with e-u = “something” in dative)

it behaves like a preposition:

• it is invariable (does not change form)
• it governs the dative (skóginum)

So in this sentence you can think of nálægt as a preposition meaning “near”, not as an agreeing adjective like stór (big). That’s why it does not change to match bóndabærinn in gender, number, or case.

Could I say Bóndabær er nálægt skógi instead? What would that mean?

Yes, grammatically you can, but the meaning and naturalness change:

• Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum.
  → The farmhouse is near *the forest.* (both are specific/known)

• Bóndabær er nálægt skógi.
  → A farmhouse is near *a forest.* (both are indefinite, more generic)

In real usage, Icelandic tends to use the definite forms here if a particular farmhouse and forest are meant, just as English typically would: the farmhouse … the forest.

Can the word order be changed, for example Nálægt skóginum er bóndabærinn?

Yes. Icelandic word order is relatively flexible, especially for emphasis or style.

All of these are possible and grammatical:

1. Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum.
   – neutral, most common.

2. Nálægt skóginum er bóndabærinn.
   – puts emphasis on near the forest; often used in descriptions, narratives.

3. Bóndabærinn, nálægt skóginum, er gamall.
   – The farmhouse, near the forest, is old. (now with an extra adjective)

In all cases, the case endings (nominative on bóndabærinn, dative on skóginum) stay the same; only word order changes.

How do you roughly pronounce Bóndabærinn er nálægt skóginum?

Very roughly, using English‑like spelling:

• Bóndabærinn ≈ BOWN-da-bye-rin

  • ó like “o” in go (a bit longer)
  • æ like the vowel in eye

• er ≈ ehr (like a short air)

• nálægt ≈ NOW-lyecht

  • á like ow in now
  • æ again like eye
  • final -gt often sounds like a “ch‑t” cluster to English ears

• skóginum ≈ SKOH-yi-num

  • ó like o in go
  • gi somewhat like yi
  • u in -num is a short, central vowel (between u in put and oo in book)

Stress is always on the first syllable of each word: BÓN-da-bæ-rinn | ER | NÁ-lægt | SKÓ-gi-num.