Breakdown of Eplasafinn er kaldur, en ég drekk hann samt.
Questions & Answers about Eplasafinn er kaldur, en ég drekk hann samt.
Why does eplasafi become eplasafinn?
-inn is the definite article suffix attached to the noun, so eplasafinn means the apple juice (definite).
- eplasafi = apple juice (indefinite)
- eplasafinn = the apple juice (definite)
Icelandic usually expresses “the” by adding a suffix to the noun rather than using a separate word.
Why is the adjective kaldur and not something like kalt?
Adjectives agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. Eplasafi is masculine singular, so the predicate adjective is masculine singular: kaldur.
Compare:
- masculine: kaldur
- feminine: köld
- neuter: kalt
If eplasafinn is definite (the apple juice), shouldn’t the adjective be in a “definite” form too?
In Icelandic, predicate adjectives (adjectives after verbs like vera = to be) typically use the strong form, even if the noun is definite. So Eplasafinn er kaldur is normal.
(Definite/weak adjective forms are especially common inside noun phrases, e.g. kaldi eplasafinn = the cold apple juice in contexts where that phrasing is natural.)
What case is eplasafinn in here?
It’s nominative, because it’s the subject of er (is).
If you made it the object, you’d use accusative: Ég drekk eplasafann = I drink the apple juice.
Why is it ég drekk and not drekk ég after en?
After en (but), Icelandic commonly keeps normal main-clause word order: subject + verb → ég drekk.
Inversion (verb before subject) happens in many situations (especially when something other than the subject starts the clause), e.g. Í dag drekk ég hann = Today I drink it.
Why is there a comma before en?
A comma is typically used when en connects two independent clauses:
- Eplasafinn er kaldur (clause 1)
- ég drekk hann samt (clause 2)
So the comma marks the clause boundary, similar to English …, but ….
Why does it use hann for “it”? Isn’t það “it”?
Hann is used because eplasafi is masculine, and Icelandic pronouns usually match the grammatical gender of what they refer to:
- masculine noun → hann
- feminine noun → hún
- neuter noun → það
So hann here means it = the apple juice.
Is hann nominative or accusative here? It looks the same.
It’s accusative because it’s the direct object of drekk (drink).
Masculine hann happens to have the same form in nominative and accusative:
- nominative: hann
- accusative: hann
- dative: honum
- genitive: hans
What does samt do, and why is it at the end?
Samt means anyway / nevertheless. Putting it near the end is very common and often sounds natural, like adding a final “still/anyway” in English.
You can move it for emphasis, e.g. en ég drekk hann samt (common) vs en ég drekk hann samt sem áður (stronger/longer “nevertheless”).
Could I replace en with something like þó or þótt?
Often, yes, but the grammar changes:
- …, en … = …, but … (two main clauses)
- Þótt eplasafinn sé kaldur, drekk ég hann samt. = Although the apple juice is cold, I drink it anyway.
Here þótt introduces a subordinate clause and you get sé (subjunctive of vera) in many styles.
Why is the verb drekk and not drekkur?
Because the subject is ég (I), so the verb is in 1st person singular present:
- ég drekk = I drink
- þú drekkur = you drink
- hann/hún/það drekkur = he/she/it drinks
- við drekkum = we drink
How would I say it without repeating a pronoun—can I omit hann?
Normally you don’t omit the object pronoun in a sentence like this; Ég drekk samt would sound like I drink anyway with the object left unspecified.
If the object is understood, you might drop it in very specific contexts, but the standard, clear version is ég drekk hann samt.
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