Breakdown of Ég nota sama ilminn og sama vörumerkið.
og
and
ég
I
nota
to use
sami
the same (masculine, sister forms: sama, sömu)
ilmurinn
the scent
vörumerkið
the brand
Questions & Answers about Ég nota sama ilminn og sama vörumerkið.
Why do ilminn and vörumerkið have the definite suffix attached to them?
In Icelandic, the determiner sami (the same) requires the noun that follows it to be in the definite form. Even though in English we say "the same scent", in Icelandic you literally say "same scent-the" (sama ilminn).
The word ilmur (scent) is masculine and vörumerki (brand) is neuter. Why does sama look exactly the same for both?
The word sami declines using weak declension endings. In the accusative case, the weak masculine ending is -a and the weak neuter ending is also -a. They just happen to share the exact same form here!
Why are the nouns and their adjectives in the accusative case in this sentence?
They are the direct objects of the verb nota (to use). This verb requires whatever is being used to take the accusative case.
How is the compound word vörumerkið put together?
It is made from vara (product or goods) and merki (a mark, sign, or label). The first part is in the genitive singular form (vöru), literally meaning "a product's mark". Finally, the neuter definite article -ð is attached to the end to mean "the brand".
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