Log inSign up

Húsið er á milli hárra trjáa.

Húsið er á milli hárra trjáa.
The house is between tall trees.
From Lesson 89:Stóra kassa, stórra húsa — the last two adjective endings·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Húsið er á milli hárra trjáa.

Why are the words for "tall trees" (hárra trjáa) in the genitive case here?
The phrase á milli (between) is a preposition that always forces the words following it into the genitive case. That's why we don't use the basic dictionary forms here.
Trjáa looks very different from the basic word for "tree". Why is that?
The basic word for "tree" is tré. It is a neuter noun with a highly irregular plural. When forced into the genitive plural by á milli, the spelling changes significantly to trjáa.
Why does the adjective for "tall" have a double R in hárra?
The basic adjective is hár (tall). Because it needs to match the genitive plural noun trjáa, it takes the strong genitive plural ending -ra. Adding -ra to hár gives you hárra.
Is it always á milli, or can I just say milli?
You can actually just say milli. Both á milli and milli mean "between", and both require the following words to be in the genitive case. You will hear native speakers use them interchangeably.

Learn Húsið er á milli hárra trjáa and more in Icelandic

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Icelandic →