Farþegarnir bíða rólega á meðan bílstjórinn talar við lögregluna.

The passengers wait calmly while the driver talks to the police.

Breakdown of Farþegarnir bíða rólega á meðan bílstjórinn talar við lögregluna.

• bíða: to wait
• rólega: calmly
• tala: to talk
• við: to

Questions & Answers about Farþegarnir bíða rólega á meðan bílstjórinn talar við lögregluna.

What do the endings -nir in farþegarnir and -inn in bílstjórinn mean?

They are both forms of the suffixed definite article in Icelandic.

Unlike English, which usually puts the before a noun, Icelandic often attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

• farþegar = passengers

• farþegarnir = the passengers

• bílstjóri = driver
• bílstjórinn = the driver

So Icelandic often says the equivalent of passengers-the and driver-the.

The exact shape of the ending changes depending on:

• gender
• number
• case

That is why one noun ends in -nir and the other in -inn.

Why is farþegarnir plural, but bílstjórinn singular?

Because the sentence is talking about:

• the passengers as a group
• the driver as one person

So:

• farþegarnir = nominative plural definite, from farþegi = passenger
• bílstjórinn = nominative singular definite, from bílstjóri = driver

This matches the verbs too:

• Farþegarnir bíða = the passengers wait / are waiting
• bílstjórinn talar = the driver speaks / is speaking

Why is the verb bíða not changed here, even though the subject is plural?