Question 1

Why is the verb lá before the subject auglýsing?

Accepted Answer

Because Icelandic is a verb-second language. That means the finite verb normally comes in the second position of a main clause.

Here, Í morgun is placed first for emphasis or setting the scene, so the verb lá has to come next:

- Í morgun lá auglýsing...

If you started with the subject instead, you could say:

- Auglýsing lá í póstlúgunni í morgun.

So the unusual-looking order is normal Icelandic grammar, not poetry or anything especially fancy.

Question 2

What exactly does í morgun mean here, and how is it different from á morgun?

Accepted Answer

Í morgun means this morning or earlier this morning.

This is a very important contrast:

- í morgun = this morning
- á morgun = tomorrow

So even though they look similar, they mean very different things.

A few useful comparisons:

- í gær = yesterday
- í morgun = this morning
- á morgun = tomorrow

Question 3

Why does the sentence use lá instead of var?

Accepted Answer

Because lá comes from the verb liggja, meaning to lie or to be lying.

Icelandic often prefers a position verb when something is physically located somewhere:

- liggja = lie
- standa = stand
- sitja = sit

So lá auglýsing í póstlúgunni suggests that the advertisement was physically lying there.

If you used var, the sentence would still be understandable, but it would be less specific about physical position. Lá is more natural and vivid here.

Question 4

What is the dictionary form of lá?

Accepted Answer

The dictionary form is liggja.

So:

- liggja = to lie
- lá = lay / was lying

This is the past tense singular form.

Question 5

Why is there no word for a/an before auglýsing and reikningur?

Accepted Answer

Because Icelandic has no indefinite article.

So:

- auglýsing = an advertisement / a flyer
- reikningur = a bill / an invoice

If you want to say the advertisement or the bill, Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun:

- auglýsingin = the advertisement
- reikningurinn = the bill

So the bare noun often corresponds to English a/an.

Question 6

Why is it í póstlúgunni and not just póstlúga?

Accepted Answer

There are two things happening here:

1. -nni shows the definite article:  
   - póstlúga = a mail slot  
   - póstlúgan / in this case póstlúgunni = the mail slot

2. After í, Icelandic uses different cases depending on meaning:
   - í + dative for location: in
   - í + accusative for motion: into

Here the meaning is location, not movement, so the form is í póstlúgunni = in the mail slot.

A useful contrast:

- í póstlúgunni = in the mail slot
- í póstlúguna = into the mail slot

Question 7

What does upp á mean in reikningur upp á fimmtíu þúsund krónur?

Accepted Answer

Here upp á is part of a common idiomatic expression meaning:

- for
- amounting to
- in the amount of

So:

- reikningur upp á fimmtíu þúsund krónur = a bill for 50,000 krónur

It is not meant literally as up on here.

You can see the same pattern in other expressions:

- sekt upp á... = a fine of...
- skuld upp á... = a debt of...
- tilboð upp á... = an offer of...

Question 8

Why is there no second verb before reikningur?

Accepted Answer

Because Icelandic often leaves out a repeated verb when two coordinated parts are parallel.

So the sentence is understood roughly like this:

- Í morgun lá auglýsing í póstlúgunni og [lá] reikningur upp á fimmtíu þúsund krónur.

In other words, the second lá is omitted because it would just repeat the same verb.

English does this too sometimes:

- There was an ad in the mail slot and [there was] a bill for 50,000 krónur.

Question 9

Why is reikningur in the nominative form?

Accepted Answer

Because reikningur is the subject of that second understood clause:

- [lá] reikningur upp á...

Even though the verb is omitted, reikningur is still grammatically a subject, so it stays in the nominative.

That is why you get:

- reikningur = nominative singular

not a direct-object form.

Question 10

Shouldn’t the verb be plural, since there are two things: an advertisement and a bill?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, the most natural analysis is that there are really two parallel clause parts, with the second lá omitted:

- lá auglýsing... og [lá] reikningur...

So the visible verb agrees with the first singular subject, and the second singular subject has its own understood verb.

If you rewrote it as one clause with a single compound subject, a plural verb could make sense, for example:

- Í morgun lágu auglýsing og reikningur í póstlúgunni.

But that is a slightly different structure from the sentence you were given.

Question 11

How does fimmtíu þúsund krónur work grammatically?

Accepted Answer

It simply means fifty thousand krónur:

- fimmtíu = fifty
- þúsund = thousand
- krónur = crowns / krónur

So:

- fimmtíu þúsund krónur = 50,000 krónur

A useful detail for learners: króna is singular, but with amounts like this you use the plural krónur.

For example:

- ein króna = one króna
- tvær krónur = two krónur
- fimmtíu þúsund krónur = fifty thousand krónur

Question 12

What is póstlúga exactly? Is it a mailbox?

Accepted Answer

Usually póstlúga means a mail slot, often the opening or flap where mail is pushed through, for example in a door.

So it is not necessarily a full mailbox. In this sentence, the image is that the advertisement and bill were sitting in or at that slot where the mail came in.

That helps explain why lá is such a natural verb here: the items are being described as physically lying there.

Í morgun lá auglýsing í póstlúgunni og reikningur upp á fimmtíu þúsund krónur.

Questions & Answers about Í morgun lá auglýsing í póstlúgunni og reikningur upp á fimmtíu þúsund krónur.

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