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Questions & Answers about Ég er kennari.
Why is there no word for "a" before kennari?
In Icelandic, there is no indefinite article like "a" or "an" in English. You just say the noun on its own, so Ég er kennari literally translates to "I am teacher".
Is er the only way to say "am"?
Yes! The word er is the form of the verb vera (to be) that matches with ég (I). Whenever you want to say "I am", you will always use Ég er.
Wait, does the word er also mean "is"?
Yes, it does! The verb vera shares the exact same form for "I am" (ég er) and "he/she/it is" (hann/hún/það er). You can tell how to translate it by looking at the pronoun right next to it.
Does the word kennari need a special case ending because it comes after a verb?
No, it stays in its basic dictionary form (the nominative case). The verb vera (to be) acts like an equals sign, so the noun describing the subject stays in the same basic form as the subject itself.