Fjarstýringin er ekki á borðinu; hún er líklega á milli sófans og mottunnar.

The remote control is not on the table; it is probably between the sofa and the rug.

Breakdown of Fjarstýringin er ekki á borðinu; hún er líklega á milli sófans og mottunnar.

• vera: to be
• ekki: not
• borðið: the table
• á: on

Questions & Answers about Fjarstýringin er ekki á borðinu; hún er líklega á milli sófans og mottunnar.

What does fjarstýringin mean, and why does it end in -in?

Fjarstýringin means the remote control.

The base noun is fjarstýring = remote control. The ending -in is the definite article attached to the noun, so fjarstýringin = the remote control.

This is very common in Icelandic: instead of putting a separate word like the in front, Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

Where is the word the in this sentence?

In Icelandic, the is usually not a separate word. It is usually added to the noun as an ending.

So in this sentence:

• fjarstýringin = the remote control
• borðinu = the table (in a case form)
• sófans = the sofa (in a case form)
• mottunnar = the rug/mat (in a case form)

Because Icelandic nouns change form for case, gender, and number, the definite ending does not always look the same.

Why is the remote control referred to as hún?