Breakdown of Ég er hræddur við stóru gæsina, en ekki gæslinginn.
vera
to be
ég
I
en
but
stór
big
ekki
not
við
we
hræddur
afraid, frightened
gæsin
the goose
gæslingurinn
the gosling
Questions & Answers about Ég er hræddur við stóru gæsina, en ekki gæslinginn.
How does the suffix -lingur change the word gæs here?
The suffix -lingur is used to create diminutives or words for animal offspring. By attaching it to the root of the feminine noun gæs (goose), it creates a brand new masculine noun, gæslingur (gosling). Notice that words ending in -lingur are always masculine, regardless of the gender of the original root word.
Why are both gæsina and gæslinginn in the accusative case?
They are in the accusative because they are the objects of the preposition við. In Icelandic, the phrase að vera hræddur við (to be afraid of) always requires the noun that follows it to be in the accusative case.
Why is the adjective stóru used instead of stóra or stór?
Because the noun it describes, gæsina (the goose), has the definite article attached. This forces the adjective into its weak declension. For a feminine noun in the accusative singular, the weak form of stór is stóru.
If gæs is feminine, why does gæslinginn end with the masculine definite article -inn?
When you add a suffix like -lingur to create a new word, the new noun's gender is determined entirely by the suffix. Because all nouns ending in -lingur are masculine, gæslingur takes the masculine definite article -inn in the accusative case.
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