Questions & Answers about Bókasafnskortið er hér.
Icelandic makes very heavy use of compound nouns, much more than English often does.
Bókasafnskortið can be broken down like this:
- bókasafn = library
- kort = card
- -ið = the (for a neuter noun)
So:
- bókasafnskort = library card
- bókasafnskortið = the library card
This kind of long noun is completely normal in Icelandic.
The ending -ið is the definite article, meaning the.
Unlike English, Icelandic usually does not use a separate word like the before the noun. Instead, it attaches the article to the end of the noun.
So:
- bókasafnskort = a library card / library card
- bókasafnskortið = the library card
In this sentence, -ið tells you that we are talking about a specific card.