Learn Icelandic: Tannlæknirinn skoðar munninn. - The dentist examines the mouth.

They look similar but are in different cases! Tannlæknirinn (the dentist) is the subject doing the action, so it is in the nominative case (the base noun is tannlæknir plus the article -inn). Munninn (the mouth) is the object being examined, so the verb skoðar forces it into the accusative case. The base word is munnur; in the accusative it drops the -ur to become munn, and then we add the accusative article -inn to get munninn.

How is the word tannlæknirinn built?

It is a compound word that literally means tooth doctor. The word for tooth is tönn, but when put at the front of a compound word, its spelling changes to the combining form tann-. Læknir means doctor, and -inn is the attached word for the.

In English, we usually say the dentist examines 'my' or 'your' mouth. Why does this sentence just say 'the mouth'?

In Icelandic, it is standard practice to just use the definite article (the attached 'the') when talking about body parts, clothing, or personal items, rather than using a possessive word. As long as the context makes it obvious whose body part it is, saying munninn (the mouth) sounds much more natural than adding a word for my or his.

What kind of verb is skoðar?