Questions & Answers about Hljóðfærið hljómar vel.
Hljóðfæri is the basic dictionary form (indefinite, “a musical instrument”).
Hljóðfærið has the definite ending -ið, so it means “the musical instrument” or simply “the instrument.”
In Icelandic, the definite article (the) is usually attached to the end of the noun as a suffix instead of being a separate word, so:
- hljóðfæri = a (musical) instrument
- hljóðfærið = the (musical) instrument
In Hljóðfærið hljómar vel.:
- hljóðfærið is neuter gender
- it is singular
- it is in the nominative case
Reason: it is the subject of the sentence, and subjects normally appear in the nominative case in Icelandic.
The base (dictionary) form is hljóðfæri.
It’s a compound:
- hljóð = sound
- færi (related to fár / færi “gear, equipment, means”) = a device / implement
So hljóðfæri literally means , i.e. a .