Breakdown of Manst þú afmælisdaginn eða götunafnið?
þú
you
eða
or
muna
to remember
götunafnið
the street name
afmælisdagurinn
the birthday (the specific day)
Questions & Answers about Manst þú afmælisdaginn eða götunafnið?
Why does this sentence use the regular verb muna instead of the quirky verb minna taught in this lesson?
While both verbs translate to remembering, they express different levels of certainty. Muna is used for actively remembering a specific fact and takes a normal nominative subject like þú. The quirky verb minna (as in mig minnir) means 'I have a vague memory' or 'I recall' and takes an accusative subject. Since this sentence asks if you know exact facts, muna is the right choice.
Why does the verb muna look like manst here?
Muna is a preterite-present verb, meaning its present tense uses past tense conjugation rules. That causes the root vowel to change from 'u' to 'a'. The -st ending is the standard second-person singular marker for these verbs, making it þú manst (you remember).
How is the word afmælisdaginn built?
It is a compound word made of afmæli (birthday) and dagur (day), joined by an -s- which acts as glue. In Icelandic, the definite article always attaches to the very end of a compound word, so the accusative article -inn is added only to the second half, creating afmælisdaginn (the birthday).
What case are the words afmælisdaginn and götunafnið in?
They are both in the accusative case because they are the direct objects of the verb muna. For the masculine word afmælisdagur, the accusative definite form is afmælisdaginn. The neuter word götunafn becomes götunafnið, which happens to look exactly the same as its nominative form.
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