Questions & Answers about Lestrarsalurinn er opinn.
It is built into lestrarsalurinn.
Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the. So:
- lestrarsalur = reading room
- lestrarsalurinn = the reading room
So the sentence does not need a separate word for the.
Because Icelandic uses compound nouns very freely.
English often writes this idea as two words, reading room, but Icelandic normally combines the parts into one noun:
- lestur = reading
- salur = hall, room
Together they form lestrarsalur.
This is very common in Icelandic, so long nouns are often easier to understand once you learn to spot the smaller parts inside them.
It comes from lestur and is a compound form meaning something like of reading or for reading.
More specifically, lestrar- is based on the genitive form of lestur. Icelandic often uses this kind of form in compounds. So lestrarsalur is literally something like:
- hall/room for reading
- or reading room
You do not always need to translate the internal grammar literally, but it is helpful to recognize that lestrar- links the idea of reading to the noun that follows.