Questions & Answers about Ég set tuskuna í vaskinn eftir að ég þurrka borðið.
Why is the verb set and not setja?
Setja is the infinitive, meaning to put. In the sentence, you need the finite present-tense form, because the subject ég is doing the action now or habitually.
So:
- að setja = to put
- ég set = I put
- þú setur = you put
- hann/hún/það setur = he/she/it puts
So Ég set ... is correct, not Ég setja ....
Why is there no separate word for the in this sentence?
In Icelandic, the is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.
In this sentence:
- tuska = cloth
tuskuna = the cloth
- vaskur = sink
vaskinn = the sink
- borð = table
- borðið = the table
So the endings are doing the job that the does in English.
Why do tuskuna, vaskinn, and borðið all have different endings?