Breakdown of Það er enginn seðill og engin mynt í veskinu hans.
vera
to be
og
and
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
hans
his
veskið
the wallet
enginn
no one / nobody / no (m/f)
seðillinn
the banknote
myntin
the coin
Questions & Answers about Það er enginn seðill og engin mynt í veskinu hans.
Why are there two different words for 'no' (enginn and engin) in the same sentence?
How would I change this sentence to say 'There must be no banknote...' using the grammar from this lesson?
You would use the modal verb hljóta + að + the infinitive of the main verb. The main verb here is er (is), whose infinitive is vera. So, Það er changes to Það hlýtur að vera enginn seðill (There must be no banknote...).
Why does 'wallet' have the definite article attached (veskinu) when we are saying 'his wallet'?
In standard Icelandic, when you use a possessive pronoun like hans (his), the noun before it usually takes the definite article. It literally translates to 'the wallet his'. The root neuter noun is veski, which becomes veskið (the wallet), and then changes to veskinu in the dative case.
Why is the wallet in the dative case (veskinu instead of veskið)?
The preposition í (in) triggers the dative case when it describes a static location (where something is resting). Because the money is simply located inside the wallet, not moving into it, veskið takes the dative form veskinu.
Why do we use the singular Það er when there are two things being listed (a banknote and a coin)?
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