Questions & Answers about Málarinn málar húsið.
How do we build the noun málari from the verb að mála?
To make an agent noun (a person who does an action), you take the infinitive verb að mála (to paint), drop the final -a, and add the suffix -ari. This creates the masculine noun málari (a painter). It works just like adding -er to a verb in English.
How is the definite article added to málari to get málarinn?
Masculine words ending in -i drop their final vowel when attaching the definite article -inn. Instead of stacking vowels to make málari-inn, the final vowel disappears to simply form málarinn (the painter).
What happens to málari if it is the object of a sentence instead of the subject?
Masculine nouns ending in -ari follow a weak declension pattern that is very friendly to learners. In the singular, they stay exactly the same (málari) in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases. The word only changes its ending when you add the definite article or make it plural.
Why does húsið not change its ending even though it is the direct object?
The verb að mála takes the accusative case for its direct object. However, hús is a neuter noun, and all neuter nouns look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the nominative case. Therefore, the definite form húsið remains entirely unchanged here.
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