Breakdown of Barnið er í appelsínugulri úlpu.
vera
to be
barnið
the child
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
úlpan
the winter coat
appelsínugulur
orange (colour)
Questions & Answers about Barnið er í appelsínugulri úlpu.
Why are the words for orange and coat in the dative case here?
The preposition í (in) dictates the case of the words that follow it. When í describes a static location or state, like wearing or being physically inside a piece of clothing, it triggers the dative case. If it described movement into something, it would take the accusative case instead.
Why does the adjective appelsínugulri end in -ri?
Adjectives must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Since the coat (úlpu) is a feminine noun in the dative singular, the base adjective appelsínugulur (orange) takes the feminine dative ending -ri.
Is the word for the color orange related to the fruit?
Yes! In Icelandic, the color orange is literally orange-yellow. It combines appelsína (the orange fruit) with gulur (yellow) to make the color appelsínugulur.
What is the dictionary form of úlpu?
The base form is úlpa, which is a weak feminine noun. Weak feminine nouns that end in -a in their dictionary form change that ending to -u in all other cases, which is why it becomes úlpu here.
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