Breakdown of Ryðgaða pípan datt á gólfið, heyrði nokkur hljóðið?
heyra
to hear
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
gólfið
the floor
hljóðið
the sound
detta
to fall
nokkur
anybody / any
ryðgaður
rusty
pípan
the pipe (for smoking)
Questions & Answers about Ryðgaða pípan datt á gólfið, heyrði nokkur hljóðið?
Why does nokkur mean "anybody" here instead of "some"?
What gender is nokkur in this sentence?
It is in the masculine singular nominative form. When referring to "anybody" in general, without a specific person or gender in mind, Icelandic defaults to the masculine singular.
Why is the adjective ryðgaða used instead of the dictionary form ryðguð (rusty)?
Because pípan (the pipe) has the definite article attached to it. Whenever a noun is definite, any adjective describing it must use the "weak" declension. For the feminine nominative singular, the weak ending is -a, giving us ryðgaða.
Why is gólfið (the floor) in the accusative case here? Doesn't the preposition á usually take the dative?
The preposition á takes the accusative case when it describes movement or direction towards a destination (the pipe falling onto the floor). If the pipe were already resting on the floor, it would take the dative case (á gólfinu).
Learn Ryðgaða pípan datt á gólfið, heyrði nokkur hljóðið 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