Slökkvitækið er undir vaskinum og reykskynjarinn er í loftinu fyrir ofan hurðina.

The fire extinguisher is under the sink and the smoke detector is on the ceiling above the door.

Breakdown of Slökkvitækið er undir vaskinum og reykskynjarinn er í loftinu fyrir ofan hurðina.

• vera: to be
• í: in
• og: and
• hurðin: the door

Questions & Answers about Slökkvitækið er undir vaskinum og reykskynjarinn er í loftinu fyrir ofan hurðina.

Why is there no separate word for the in this sentence?

In Icelandic, the is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word.

So:

• slökkvitæki = fire extinguisher
• slökkvitækið = the fire extinguisher

And:

• reykskynjari = smoke detector
• reykskynjarinn = the smoke detector

The same thing happens in other forms too, so you also get forms like vaskinum, loftinu, and hurðina, where the noun includes both case ending and definiteness.

Why does slökkvitækið end in -ið?

Slökkvitækið is the neuter singular nominative definite form of slökkvitæki.

Breakdown:

• slökkvitæki = fire extinguisher
• -ið = the definite ending for a neuter noun in this form

It is the subject of the clause, so nominative is used:

• Slökkvitækið er... = The fire extinguisher is...

This is very common in Icelandic: the noun changes form depending on gender, number, case, and whether it is definite.

Why is it vaskinum after undir?