Questions & Answers about Ruslatunnan er full, svo ég tek ruslið út núna.
Why is ruslatunnan written as one word?
Because Icelandic usually writes compound nouns as a single word.
So ruslatunnan is one compound noun meaning the trash can / the garbage bin.
English often splits similar ideas into two words, but Icelandic very often joins them:
- ruslatunna = trash can / garbage bin
- baðherbergi = bathroom
- eldhús = kitchen
This is one of the first things English speakers have to get used to in Icelandic.
Where is the word the in ruslatunnan and ruslið?
In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.
So:
- ruslatunna = a trash can
- ruslatunnan = the trash can
and
- rusl = trash / garbage
- ruslið = the trash / the garbage
That means Icelandic often expresses the as a suffix rather than as a separate word like English does.
What case are ruslatunnan and ruslið in?