Word
Bílstjórinn stöðvar bílinn við gangbrautina af því að barnið er að fara yfir götuna.
Meaning
The driver stops the car at the crosswalk because the child is crossing the street.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Bílstjórinn stöðvar bílinn við gangbrautina af því að barnið er að fara yfir götuna.
vera
to be
bíllinn
the car
barnið
the child
af því að
because
Questions & Answers about Bílstjórinn stöðvar bílinn við gangbrautina af því að barnið er að fara yfir götuna.
Why is there no separate word for the in this sentence?
In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.
For example:
- bílstjórinn = the driver
- bílinn = the car
- barnið = the child
- gangbrautina = the pedestrian crossing
- götuna = the street
So instead of a separate word like English the, Icelandic often uses an ending such as -inn, -ið, or -na, depending on gender, number, and case.
Why is it bílinn and not bíllinn?
Because bílinn is the accusative form, not the nominative form.
The noun bíll means car. Its definite singular forms include:
- bíllinn = the car as subject, nominative
- bílinn = the car as direct object, accusative
In this sentence, bílinn is the thing being stopped, so it is the direct object of stöðvar. That is why accusative is used.
What exactly does stöðvar mean here?