Breakdown of Annar hlauparinn er fljótur en hinn er seinn.
vera
to be
en
but
annar
other, another; second
fljótur
fast (adjective)
hinn
the other
seinn
late (adjective) / slow
hlauparinn
the runner
Questions & Answers about Annar hlauparinn er fljótur en hinn er seinn.
How is the word hlauparinn built?
It comes from the verb hlaupa (to run). To make a noun for the person doing the action, you drop the infinitive -a ending and add the suffix -ari, giving us hlaupari (a runner). The -nn at the end is the masculine definite article (the runner).
Why do we use annar for "one" here instead of the number einn?
Why does annar go with a noun that has the definite article (hlauparinn)?
When annar is used to mean "one of the two", it is followed by the definite form of the noun. A literal translation would be "one the runner". If you said annar hlaupari with the indefinite form, it would mean "another runner" instead.
Why are the adjectives fljótur and seinn in the masculine form here?
They are describing hlauparinn. You can always rely on nouns created with the -ari agent suffix being masculine, so any adjectives describing them will take their masculine endings (like the -ur on fljótur).
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