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Icelandic

### The Masculine Suffix *-leiki*

Icelandic frequently derives abstract nouns from adjectives to describe physical properties or personal traits. A common suffix for this is **-leiki**. Nouns ending in **-leiki** (like *harðleiki* for hardness, or *sterkleiki* for strength) are weak masculine nouns. 

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Because these are weak masculine nouns ending in **-i**, their accusative, dative, and genitive forms all end in **-a**. 

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### The Feminine Suffix *-ni*

Another common suffix is **-ni**. Nouns formed this way, such as *viðkvæmni* (fragility) or *nákvæmni* (precision), are always feminine. 

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This suffix is especially common for behavioral traits derived from adjectives ending in *-inn*, such as *hlýðinn* (obedient) becoming *hlýðni* (obedience), and *feiminn* (shy) becoming *feimni*.

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### The Masculine Suffix *-leikur*

Sometimes, the masculine suffix takes the strong form **-leikur** instead of the weak *-leiki*. Because they end in a consonant, they follow strong declension patterns. For example, *sætur* (sweet) becomes *sætleikur*.

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### The Neuter Suffix *-i*

Finally, some adjectives form **neuter** abstract nouns by adding the suffix **-i**. Words like *mikilvægi* (importance), *erfiði* (hardship), and *gegnsæi* (transparency) belong to this group. 

Since they are neuter nouns ending in a vowel, their core forms are extremely stable and do not change endings in the accusative or dative cases.

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Let's look at one final example combining a weak masculine noun in the accusative case (*harðleika*) with a neuter noun that stays exactly the same (*gegnsæi*).

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Forming abstract nouns (-ni, -leiki, -i)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Obligation (eiga að)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Question	Answer
the hardness	harðleikinn
the strength	sterkleikinn
The hardness is important, but the strength also matters.	Harðleikinn er mikilvægur, en sterkleikinn skiptir líka máli.
the fragility	viðkvæmnin
The fragility is the problem, not the hardness.	Viðkvæmnin er vandamálið, ekki harðleikinn.
The strength comes from great hardness.	Sterkleikinn kemur frá miklum harðleika.
The strength and the precision matter a lot.	Sterkleikinn og nákvæmnin skipta miklu máli.
The engineer's precision is always excellent.	Nákvæmnin hjá verkfræðingnum er alltaf frábær.
the obedience	hlýðnin
The dog waits downstairs and shows great obedience.	Hundurinn bíður niðri og sýnir mikla hlýðni.
the shyness	feimnin
The puppy's shyness is cute.	Feimnin hjá hvolpinum er sæt.
The puppy goes downstairs and shows great shyness.	Hvolpurinn fer niður og sýnir mikla feimni.
the sweetness	sætleikurinn
The sweetness in the juice matters a lot.	Sætleikurinn í safanum skiptir miklu máli.
the importance	mikilvægið
the purity	hreinleikinn
We shall investigate the importance and the purity.	Við skulum rannsaka mikilvægið og hreinleikann.
the hardship	erfiðið
The teacher explains the hardship, but we shall remember the importance.	Kennarinn útskýrir erfiðið, en við skulum muna mikilvægið.
the bitterness	beiskleikinn
The bitterness often comes after much hardship.	Beiskleikinn kemur oft eftir mikið erfiði.
The sweetness is great, but not the bitterness.	Sætleikurinn er mikill, en ekki beiskleikinn.
The purity is important, but the obedience is also good.	Hreinleikinn er mikilvægur, en hlýðnin er líka góð.
The fragility is often the problem.	Viðkvæmnin er oft vandamálið.
the transparency	gegnsæið
We need to examine the hardness and transparency of the plastic.	Við þurfum að skoða harðleika og gegnsæi plastsins.
No one understands the fragility and strength of the wood.	Enginn skilur viðkvæmni og sterkleika viðarins.
The transparency of the glass is beautiful.	Gegnsæið í glerinu er fallegt.

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