Breakdown of Hann er í fjólubláum bol.
vera
to be
hann
he
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
bolurinn
the t-shirt
fjólublár
purple
Questions & Answers about Hann er í fjólubláum bol.
Why does the preposition í take the dative case here instead of the accusative?
The preposition í takes the dative case when it describes a fixed state or location (where something is), and the accusative case when it describes movement (where something is going). Since he is already wearing the shirt, there is no movement, so we use the dative.
Is vera í the normal way to say "wearing" in Icelandic?
Yes! While there is a verb for "to wear" (klæðast), it sounds very formal. In everyday Icelandic, you just say that someone is "in" (í) an item of clothing.
Why does the adjective fjólubláum end in -um?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. The noun bolur (T-shirt) is masculine and singular, and because of the preposition í, it is in the dative case. The standard dative masculine ending for adjectives is -um.
What happened to the -ur at the end of the word bolur?
The dictionary form of the word for T-shirt is bolur. However, many masculine nouns that end in -ur drop that ending when they change to the accusative or dative case. So, in the dative case here, bolur simply becomes bol.
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