Breakdown of Eru hjörtun heilbrigð?
vera
to be
heilbrigður
healthy (of a person or living being)
hjartað
the heart
Questions & Answers about Eru hjörtun heilbrigð?
How do we get the form hjörtun from the dictionary form hjarta?
Hjarta is a weak neuter noun. In the nominative plural, these nouns take a -u ending, giving us hjörtu (hearts). To say "the hearts", we add the neuter plural definite article -in. The two vowels merge at the end, making hjörtun.
Why does the vowel change from a to ö in hjörtun?
This is caused by U-mutation. Whenever a word gets an ending containing a u, an a in the root changes to ö. Since the plural form is hjörtu, the a in the root shifts to ö. This vowel change remains even after the definite article is attached to make hjörtun.
Why is the adjective heilbrigð instead of heilbrigt or heilbrigðir?
Adjectives must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Hjörtun is neuter, plural, and nominative. For most adjectives like heilbrigður (healthy), the neuter plural nominative form has no ending, so we just use the root heilbrigð. It might look like the feminine singular form, but here it is neuter plural.
Do the other weak neuter body parts decline exactly the same way?
They follow the exact same ending pattern: auga becomes augun (the eyes), eyra becomes eyrun (the ears), and lunga becomes lungun (the lungs). However, hjarta is the only one that undergoes U-mutation, simply because it is the only one with an a in its root.
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