Breakdown of Hann er munkur og elskar þögnina.
vera
to be
og
and
hann
he
elska
to love
munkurinn
the monk
þögnin
the silence
Questions & Answers about Hann er munkur og elskar þögnina.
Why does þögnina have the definite article here when English often just says 'loves silence'?
In Icelandic, abstract nouns like þögn (silence), ást (love), or líf (life) frequently take the definite article when talking about the concept in a broad, general sense. While English can just say 'he loves silence', Icelandic prefers hann elskar þögnina.
What case is þögnina, and how can I recognize its base form?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb elska (to love). The base form is the feminine noun þögn. The ending -ina is the standard definite article for feminine singular nouns in the accusative case.
Why isn't the subject repeated after og?
Just like in English, when you have two verbs connected by og that share the same subject, you do not need to repeat the pronoun. Saying Hann er munkur og hann elskar þögnina is grammatically fine, but dropping the second hann sounds much more natural.
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