Barnið kann að synda vel.

the child

Breakdown of Barnið kann að synda vel.

• synda: to swim
• vel: well
• kunna: to know how to

Questions & Answers about Barnið kann að synda vel.

Why does barnið end in -ið instead of just being barn?

Because barnið is the definite form: the child.

• barn = a child
• barnið = the child

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the. Here, -ið is the definite ending used with this neuter singular noun.

Why is barn/barnið neuter? Does that mean the child is not male or female?

No. This is just grammatical gender, not biological sex.

Icelandic nouns belong to grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The noun barn happens to be neuter, so it takes neuter forms like barnið.

That does not tell you whether the child is a boy or a girl. It only tells you how the word behaves grammatically.

What form is barnið in grammatically?