Höfuðverkurinn minnkar þegar ég drekk heitt te.

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Breakdown of Höfuðverkurinn minnkar þegar ég drekk heitt te.

• drekka: to drink
• heitur: hot
• þegar: when

Questions & Answers about Höfuðverkurinn minnkar þegar ég drekk heitt te.

Why is höfuðverkurinn written as one word?

Because it is built as a compound plus the definite article:

• höfuð = head
• verkur = pain, ache
• höfuðverkur = headache
• -inn = the suffixed definite article, roughly the

So höfuðverkurinn literally breaks down as head-ache-the = the headache.

This kind of long compound is very normal in Icelandic.

Why does höfuðverkurinn end in -inn?

The ending -inn is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

So:

• höfuðverkur = a headache / headache
• höfuðverkurinn = the headache

In this sentence, it refers to a specific headache, not just headaches in general.

What case is höfuðverkurinn, and why?

It is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the verb minnkar.

The structure is:

• Höfuðverkurinn = the subject
• minnkar = decreases / gets less

So the thing doing the decreasing is the headache, which is why the noun is nominative.