Breakdown of Bóndinn rýr kindurnar og selur ullina síðla vetrar.
og
and
selja
to sell
bóndinn
the farmer
kindin
the sheep
veturinn
the winter
rýja
to shear
ullin
the wool
síðla
late (in a period of time)
Questions & Answers about Bóndinn rýr kindurnar og selur ullina síðla vetrar.
Why is vetrar in the genitive case here?
It forms a fixed expression of time with the adverb síðla (late). When talking about recurring or general times of the year, Icelandic often uses the genitive case, like snemma sumars (early in the summer) or here, síðla vetrar (late in the winter).
The verb rýr looks unusual. What is its infinitive form?
The infinitive is rýja (to shear). It is a slightly irregular verb that drops the j in the present tense singular. The conjugation is ég rý, þú rýr, hann/hún/það rýr.
Why is the plural of kind formed as kindurnar instead of using the standard -ir ending for feminine nouns?
The feminine noun kind (sheep) is an exception to the normal rules. It takes the ending -ur in the plural nominative and accusative instead of -ir. Adding the definite article to kindur gives us kindurnar (the sheep).
Why is there no subject before the verb selur?
Because both verbs in this sentence, rýr and selur, share the same subject, which is bóndinn. When two actions by the same subject are connected by og, you do not need to repeat the subject pronoun.
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