Breakdown of Hótelstjórinn þrífur hótelherbergið.
þrífa
to clean
hótelherbergið
the hotel room
hótelstjórinn
the hotel manager
Questions & Answers about Hótelstjórinn þrífur hótelherbergið.
Both hótelstjórinn and hótelherbergið are compound nouns starting with hótel. Why do they join the words directly instead of using a linking -s like in many other compound nouns?
The word hótel is a foreign loanword in Icelandic. When modern loanwords are used as the first part of a compound noun, they very often attach directly to the second word using their bare stem, rather than adding a genitive linking suffix like -s or -ar.
The verb is þrífur (cleans). I remember that verbs ending in -a like þrífa usually take -ar in the present tense (like tala becomes talar). Why is this one þrífur?
The verb þrífa (to clean) belongs to the group of strong verbs, which have more irregular vowel changes and endings. Instead of the regular -ar ending you see in weak verbs, it takes -ur in the present tense singular: ég þríf, þú þrífur, hann/hún/það þrífur.
In the word hótelstjórinn, the definite article -nn is at the very end. Can the first word in a compound noun ever take the definite article?
No, in Icelandic compound nouns, only the final word in the compound can take a definite article. The first part always remains indefinite, acting almost like an adjective describing the second part. So it is hótelstjórinn (the hotel manager), never hóteliðstjórinn.
How do I know the grammatical gender of a newly formed compound noun like hótelherbergið?
The gender of an Icelandic compound noun is always determined by its very last part. Since herbergi (room) is a neuter noun, the whole word hótelherbergi is neuter. This is why it takes the neuter definite article -ð to become hótelherbergið.
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