Breakdown of Ég heyri söngkonuna syngja eitt af meistaraverkunum.
ég
I
einn
one
heyra
to hear
syngja
to sing
af
of (in quantity expressions)
söngkonan
the female singer
meistaraverkið
the masterpiece
Questions & Answers about Ég heyri söngkonuna syngja eitt af meistaraverkunum.
Why do we use eitt af here instead of the standard dictionary form einn af?
The word for "one" has to match the gender of the group you are pulling from. Because meistaraverk (masterpiece) is a neuter noun, we must use the neuter form eitt. It is also in the accusative case here because it is the direct object of what she is singing.
Why does meistaraverkunum have the -unum ending?
This is the dative plural definite ending. In the "one of..." construction, the preposition af always forces the following noun into the dative case. Since she is singing one of the masterpieces, the noun needs the definite plural dative ending -unum.
Why is syngja (to sing) in the infinitive here instead of being conjugated?
Icelandic handles this exactly like English! When using verbs of perception like heyra (to hear) or sjá (to see), you use the object plus the infinitive verb without the little marker word að (to). Just like you say "I hear the singer sing" in English, you say Ég heyri söngkonuna syngja in Icelandic.
What case is söngkonuna in, and why?
It is in the accusative case, which you can spot by the definite article ending -na attached to the feminine noun söngkona. It is accusative because it acts as the direct object of the verb heyra (to hear).
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