Learn Icelandic: Fimm litlir gríslingar hlupu um húsdýragarðinn. - Five little piglets ran around the petting zoo.

The suffix -lingur is used to create diminutives or refer to the offspring of an animal. Here, it is added to the base word grís (pig) to create gríslingur (piglet). Because there are five of them, it appears in the masculine nominative plural form, gríslingar.

Why is the adjective "litlir" used when the suffix "-lingur" already makes it mean "little"?

Even though -lingur implies something small or young, Icelandic speakers often still use the adjective lítill for emphasis or descriptive flavor, very similar to saying "little piglets" in English. Litlir is the masculine nominative plural form, agreeing perfectly with the masculine noun gríslingar.

Why does the preposition "um" take the accusative case in "um húsdýragarðinn"?

The preposition um takes the accusative case when describing movement "around", "about", or "across" a physical area. Because the piglets are running actively all around the space of the petting zoo, the noun húsdýragarðinn must be in the accusative case.

How does the compound noun "húsdýragarðinn" break down?