Breakdown of Hann á fjórðung í fyrirtækinu.
hann
he
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
eiga
to own / to have (a relationship)
fyrirtækið
the company
fjórðungurinn
the quarter
Questions & Answers about Hann á fjórðung í fyrirtækinu.
Why do we use the noun fjórðung instead of a regular number to say "a quarter"?
Just like helmingur is a noun meaning "a half", Icelandic has specific masculine nouns for fractions. Fjórðungur means "a fourth" or "a quarter". It is formed from the root of fjórir (four) plus the suffix -ungur. Because it is the direct object being owned in this sentence, it drops the -ur ending to become the accusative form fjórðung.
Do other fractions follow this same pattern with the -ungur ending?
Yes! Once you get past a half (helmingur), most fraction nouns use this suffix attached to the ordinal number base. For example, a third is þriðjungur and a fifth is fimmtungur. They all behave as standard masculine nouns.
Is the word á in this sentence related to the preposition for "on"?
No, even though they look identical. Here, á is the third-person singular present tense of the verb eiga (to own or possess). Because eiga is highly irregular, its singular present forms look completely different from the infinitive: ég á, þú átt, hann/hún/það á.
Why does the word for company end in -nu in this sentence?
The base word is the neuter noun fyrirtæki (company). The preposition í (in) takes the dative case here because it describes a static location or state—having a stake in a business. For a neuter noun in the dative case, the definite article suffix is -nu, turning fyrirtæki into fyrirtækinu (the company).
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