Fræin spíra hraðar þegar veðrið er hlýtt og moldin er ekki of blaut.

to be

Breakdown of Fræin spíra hraðar þegar veðrið er hlýtt og moldin er ekki of blaut.

• ekki: not
• veðrið: the weather
• þegar: when

Questions & Answers about Fræin spíra hraðar þegar veðrið er hlýtt og moldin er ekki of blaut.

Why do fræin, veðrið, and moldin all have endings that look like the?

Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So here:

• fræin = the seeds
• veðrið = the weather
• moldin = the soil

The exact ending changes depending on gender, number, and case. That is why you see -in on one noun and -ið on another.

Is fræin singular or plural? What would the singular be?

Here fræin is plural definite: the seeds.

The noun fræ is a neuter noun, and its basic form can look the same in singular and plural in some cases, so the article helps make things clearer:

• fræ = seed / seeds depending on context
• fræið = the seed
• fræin = the seeds

So in this sentence, fræin spíra clearly means the seeds sprout.

Why is the verb spíra and not some other form?