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Það er sterk lykt af kaffi í eldhúsinu.

Það er sterk lykt af kaffi í eldhúsinu.
There is a strong smell of coffee in the kitchen.
FromLesson 35inHardcore Icelandic
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Questions & Answers about Það er sterk lykt af kaffi í eldhúsinu.

Why does the sentence start with Það er? What does það refer to?

Það er is very often used like English there is/there are. Here það doesn’t point to a real “it”; it’s a dummy subject that lets the sentence start smoothly.
So Það er sterk lykt ... works like “There is a strong smell ...”.

Why is the adjective sterk and not sterkur/sterkt?

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
lykt is feminine singular nominative, so sterkur (masc) and sterkt (neut) would be wrong here. The correct form is sterk.

What case is lykt in here, and why?
lykt is nominative because it’s the “thing that exists” after Það er ... (similar to English “There is a smell”). With vera in this kind of existential sentence, Icelandic uses nominative for the noun phrase.
Why is it af kaffi and not something like af kaffis?

Because the preposition af governs the dative case.
kaffi is neuter, and its dative singular form is kaffi (same spelling as nominative/accusative). So af kaffi is correct.

Could I also say kaffilykt instead of lykt af kaffi? Is there a difference?

Yes, kaffilykt (coffee-smell) is common and more compact.

  • sterk lykt af kaffi = a strong smell of coffee (a bit more descriptive/neutral)
  • sterk kaffilykt = a strong coffee smell (more like a set label for that smell)

Both sound natural.

Why is it í eldhúsinu with the -inu ending?

Because í (when meaning location, “in”) takes the dative.
eldhús (neuter) becomes eldhúsinu in dative singular definite (“in the kitchen”).

How do I know when í takes dative vs accusative?

A common rule:

  • í + dative = location (where something is): í eldhúsinu = in the kitchen
  • í + accusative = motion/direction (where something is going): í eldhúsið = into the kitchen
Why is there no word like a in front of sterk lykt?

Icelandic has no separate word for a/an. Indefiniteness is usually just the bare noun: sterk lykt = “a strong smell”.
If you want to emphasize “a certain/one” smell, you can use ein: ein sterk lykt (less common in this neutral statement).

Does lykt always mean a bad smell?
Not always, but it often can lean that way depending on context (like English odor sometimes does). For clearly pleasant smells, speakers may also use words like ilmur (“fragrance/scent”). Still, lykt af kaffi is perfectly normal and usually neutral-to-positive.
Is the word order fixed? Could I move í eldhúsinu earlier?

You can often move adverbial phrases around for emphasis. For example:

  • Í eldhúsinu er sterk lykt af kaffi. = “In the kitchen, there’s a strong smell of coffee.”
    This is very natural, especially if you’re setting the scene (“as for the kitchen…”).

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