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Hún flokkar gler og plast í sitthvora kassana, en hitt sorpið fer í ruslafötuna.

Hún flokkar gler og plast í sitthvora kassana, en hitt sorpið fer í ruslafötuna.
She sorts glass and plastic into separate boxes, but the rest of the trash goes into the trash bin.
FromLesson 55inHardcore Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Hún flokkar gler og plast í sitthvora kassana, en hitt sorpið fer í ruslafötuna.

What form is flokkar, and what is its dictionary form?

Flokkar is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of flokka, which means to sort, to classify, or to separate into categories.

So:

  • að flokka = to sort
  • hún flokkar = she sorts

The ending -ar is a very common present-tense ending for many Icelandic verbs in the he/she/it form.

Why are gler and plast written without the or any plural ending?

Because here they are being used as material/category words, not as countable individual objects.

So:

  • gler = glass
  • plast = plastic

In recycling language, Icelandic often uses these bare singular forms the same way English does in phrases like glass and plastic. It means the material categories in general, not a glass or some plastics.

They are also the direct objects of flokkar, but for these neuter words the accusative form looks the same as the basic form, so you do not see any extra ending here.

Why is it í sitthvora kassana and í ruslafötuna? Why not dative after í?

Because í can take either:

  • accusative for movement into / toward
  • dative for location in

In this sentence, both phrases describe destination:

  • í sitthvora kassana = into the separate boxes
  • í ruslafötuna = into the trash can

So accusative is used.

Compare:

  • Hún setur plast í kassana. = She puts plastic into the boxes.
  • Plastið er í kössunum. = The plastic is in the boxes.

That movement-vs-location contrast is very important in Icelandic.

What does sitthvora kassana mean exactly?

It means something like:

  • into separate boxes
  • into their respective boxes
  • one in each box

The key word is sitthvor, which is a distributive word. It means that each item gets its own separate counterpart.

So here:

  • gler goes in one box
  • plast goes in another box

The sentence is not just saying that both materials go into boxes. It is specifically saying they go into different boxes, one category per box.

Why is the form sitthvora used here?

Because Icelandic words like sitthvor have to agree with the noun they describe in:

  • gender
  • number
  • case

Here the noun is kassana:

  • kassa = box
  • kassana = the boxes
  • masculine
  • plural
  • accusative

So sitthvor has to appear in the matching form: sitthvora.

Also, because the noun is definite (the boxes), the describing word appears in the form used with definite nouns.

You do not need to memorize all the grammar at once, but the main idea is: the ending changes to match the noun.

Why is it kassana with the definite article, literally the boxes?

Because Icelandic often uses the definite form when the boxes are understood to be specific, known boxes in the situation.

So kassana suggests something like:

  • the recycling boxes already in the home
  • the known collection bins
  • the particular boxes being talked about

English might say:

  • into separate boxes
  • into the boxes

Icelandic often prefers the definite form where English might be more flexible.

What does hitt sorpið mean, and why is it hitt?

Hitt sorpið means:

  • the other trash
  • the rest of the trash
  • the remaining waste

Here hitt means the other / the remaining. It contrasts with what was just mentioned:

  • gler og plast are sorted separately
  • hitt sorpið = everything else

It matches sorpið, which is:

  • sorp = waste/trash
  • neuter singular
  • definite

So hitt is the matching neuter singular form.

This is a very natural Icelandic way to say the rest of it or the other waste.

Why is it sorpið in the singular, not plural?

Because sorp is usually a mass noun, like English trash, waste, or garbage.

Mass nouns are often singular even when they refer to many separate pieces.

So:

  • sorp = waste/trash in general
  • sorpið = the waste / the trash

That is why Icelandic uses singular here, just as English often does in the trash goes in the bin.

Does fer literally mean goes here?

Yes, literally fer means goes; it is from the verb fara = to go.

But in this kind of sentence, Icelandic often uses X fer í Y in a very natural, practical way to mean:

  • X goes in Y
  • X should be put in Y
  • X belongs in Y

So hitt sorpið fer í ruslafötuna does not mean the trash walks there by itself. It is simply the normal way to say where that waste should be placed.

This is especially common in instructions, sorting rules, and household talk.

What is the difference between sorp, rusl, and ruslafata?

They are related, but not identical.

  • sorp = waste, refuse, trash
    • often used in somewhat more formal or sorting-related contexts
  • rusl = trash, junk, clutter, mess
    • often broader and more everyday
  • ruslafata = trash can / garbage bin

So even though the sentence says sorpið for the waste itself, the container is very naturally called ruslafata.

And in the sentence:

  • ruslafötuna = the trash can in the accusative singular definite
  • literally the form used because the trash goes into it

So the vocabulary mix is completely normal:

  • sorp for waste
  • ruslafata for the bin it goes into
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