Questions & Answers about Í þessari setningu er orðið „fallegur“ lýsingarorð, en „á“ er forsetning.
Why is it í þessari setningu and not something like í þessi setning?
Because í takes the dative case when it means in in a location sense.
Here, setning is a feminine noun, so both words in the phrase change to dative singular:
- þessi → þessari
- setning → setningu
So í þessari setningu means in this sentence.
What is orðið, and what does the ending -ið mean?
Orðið means the word.
It comes from the noun orð meaning word, plus the suffixed definite article:
- orð = word
- orðið = the word
Icelandic usually puts the on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.
Why is there no word for a/an before lýsingarorð and forsetning?
Because Icelandic has no indefinite article.
So where English says:
- is an adjective
- is a preposition
Icelandic simply says:
- er lýsingarorð
- er forsetning
A bare noun can mean a/an + noun in English.
Why is fallegur left as fallegur? Shouldn’t it match orðið, which is neuter?
Normally, if an adjective were really describing orðið, then yes, you would expect neuter agreement, such as fallegt.
But that is not what is happening here. Fallegur is being mentioned as a word, not used as an adjective describing orðið. It is basically being cited in its dictionary form, which for adjectives is usually the masculine nominative singular form.
So here fallegur means the word fallegur, not a beautiful word.
Why are lýsingarorð and forsetning in this form?
Because after vera (to be), predicate nouns are usually in the nominative.
So:
- orðið er lýsingarorð
- á er forsetning
Both lýsingarorð and forsetning are naming what something is, so nominative is the normal case here.
What does lýsingarorð literally mean?
It is the Icelandic grammatical term for adjective.
Literally, it is made from parts meaning something like describing word:
- lýsing = description
- orð = word
So it is a very transparent Icelandic-style grammar term.
Can á mean something other than a preposition?
Yes. Á can also be a form of the verb eiga, meaning to own / to have.
For example, in another sentence, hann á bók means he has a book.
So this sentence is telling you that in that particular sentence, the word á is functioning as a preposition, not as a verb. Icelandic words can belong to different parts of speech depending on context.
Why is there a comma before en?
Because en means but, and here it joins two main clauses.
The comma separates:
- the clause about fallegur
- the clause about á
This is very normal in Icelandic. Comma use is sometimes a little different from English, but a comma before en in a sentence like this is common and natural.
Why does er come right after í þessari setningu?
This is because Icelandic often follows a verb-second pattern in main clauses.
When a phrase like í þessari setningu is moved to the front, the finite verb usually comes next:
- Í þessari setningu er ...
So even though English might also allow In this sentence, the word... is..., Icelandic is especially regular about putting the verb early in the clause after the first element.
Why are fallegur and á specially marked in the sentence?
Because they are being mentioned as words, not used with their normal meaning.
In English, we often do this with italics or quotation marks. Icelandic does the same kind of thing. The marking tells the reader, I am talking about this word itself, not using it normally inside the sentence.
So here the sentence is discussing the words fallegur and á as grammar items.
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