Hluturinn er á borðinu.

The thing is on the table.

Breakdown of Hluturinn er á borðinu.

• vera: to be
• borðið: the table
• á: on
• hluturinn: the thing

Questions & Answers about Hluturinn er á borðinu.

What does hluturinn literally mean, and what is its base form?

Hluturinn is made of:

• hlutur = a thing, an object (indefinite, singular, nominative)
• -inn = the masculine singular definite ending “the”

So hluturinn literally means “the thing / the object”.
Base dictionary form: hlutur (masculine noun).

Why is there no separate word for “the” in this sentence?

Icelandic normally does not use a separate word for “the”.
Instead, the definite article is added as an ending:

• masculine: -inn (as in hluturinn – “the thing”)
• neuter dative here: -inu (as in borðinu – “on the table”)

So hluturinn er á borðinu literally looks like:
thing-the is on table-the → “The thing is on the table.”

Why is hluturinn in this form and not something like hlutinn or hlutnum?

Because hluturinn is the subject of the verb er, it must be in the nominative case.

For hlutur (singular definite forms):

• Nominative: hluturinn – used for the subject (“the thing” does something)
• Accusative: hlutinn
• Dative: hlutnum
• Genitive: hlutarins

Since the sentence answers “Who/what is on the table?” → “The thing is on the table”, nominative hluturinn is required.

What is the base form and gender of borðinu, and which case is it?

The base noun is borð (a table), which is neuter.

In the sentence á borðinu, borðinu is:

• case: dative
• number: singular
• definiteness: definite (“the table”)
• form: borð
  • -inu → borðinu

So borðinu means “the table” in the dative case.

Why does á take the dative in á borðinu? When would it take another case?

The preposition á can take dative or accusative:

• Dative = location (where something is)
  
  • á borðinu = on the table (static location)
• Accusative = direction / movement (onto, to)
  
  • á borðið = onto the table (movement to the surface)

In Hluturinn er á borðinu, the thing is already on the table, so á governs the dative (borðinu).

What is the difference between á borðinu and á borðið?

• á borðinu (dative) = on the table
  Static location, answering “Where is it?”

• á borðið (accusative) = onto the table / to the table
  Direction/motion, answering “Where is it being put / going?”

Examples:

• Hluturinn er á borðinu.
  “The thing is on the table.”

• Ég set hlutinn á borðið.
  “I put the thing onto the table.”

Can I change the word order and say Á borðinu er hluturinn? Does it mean the same?

Yes, you can say:

• Hluturinn er á borðinu.
• Á borðinu er hluturinn.

Both mean “The thing is on the table.”

The second version (Á borðinu er hluturinn) puts extra emphasis on “on the table”, a bit like saying in English:
“On the table is the thing.” / “It’s on the table that the thing is.”

How would I say “The thing is not on the table”?

You add ekki (not) after the verb er:

• Hluturinn er ekki á borðinu.
  = “The thing is not on the table.”

Basic word order in simple negations:
subject – verb – ekki – rest of the sentence
→ Hluturinn – er – ekki – á borðinu.

How would this sentence change in the plural: “The things are on the table”?

Subject becomes plural and the verb agrees:

• Hlutirnir eru á borðinu.
  = “The things are on the table.”

Changes:

• hluturinn → hlutirnir (plural nominative definite: “the things”)
• er (3rd person singular “is”) → eru (3rd person plural “are”)
• á borðinu stays the same; the table is still one table in the dative.

Why doesn’t borðinu change when the subject is plural?

The form of borðinu is determined by:

• the preposition á
• the meaning (static location → dative)
• and the fact that there is one table

It does not depend on whether the subject is singular or plural.
So:

• Hluturinn er á borðinu. – “The thing is on the table.”
• Hlutirnir eru á borðinu. – “The things are on the table.”

In both cases we still talk about one table, so it remains borðinu (dative singular definite).

How do you pronounce the special letters in this sentence, like á and ð?

In Hluturinn er á borðinu:

• á is a long vowel, roughly like “ow” in “cow”: [auː]
• ð (in borðinu) sounds like the th in “this” (voiced th)
• Stress is on the first syllable of each content word:
  HLU-tur-inn er Á BOR-ði-nu

A rough IPA transcription (one possible version) is:

• [ˈl̥ʏːtʏrɪn ɛr auː ˈpɔrðɪnʏ]

Can hluturinn mean “thing”, “object”, or “item”? Are there other words for “thing”?

Yes. Hluturinn is usually best translated as “the thing” or “the object”, and sometimes “the item”, depending on context.

Other very common “thing” words:

• hlutur – thing, object (neutral, everyday)
• gripur – an item, (often) a physical object, sometimes with value
• munur – item, object, but also “difference”
• dót (colloquial, uncountable) – “stuff”, “things” (often kids’ toys, random objects)

In this simple sentence, hluturinn is a good general “the thing / the object”.