Breakdown of Er læknirinn nýr? Já, hann er nýr hér.
vera
to be
hér
here
já
yes
læknirinn
the doctor
hann
he
nýr
new
Questions & Answers about Er læknirinn nýr? Já, hann er nýr hér.
Why does the adjective nýr end with an 'r' in both sentences?
It describes the noun læknirinn and the pronoun hann. Since læknir is a grammatically masculine noun, the adjective takes the masculine singular ending, which is usually -r in the basic subject form (nominative). If we were describing a feminine noun, it would just be ný.
Does the use of hann (he) mean this specific doctor is male?
Not necessarily. In Icelandic, pronouns match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Because the noun læknir is masculine, you use hann to refer back to it, even if the doctor happens to be a woman.
Where is the word for "the" in "Is the doctor new?"
Icelandic attaches "the" to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word. The base word is læknir (a doctor). Because it is a masculine noun, we add the ending -inn to get læknirinn (the doctor).
Why does the first sentence start with Er (is)?
To ask a yes/no question in Icelandic, you simply swap the verb and the subject, exactly as you do in English. Instead of the statement Læknirinn er (The doctor is), you put the verb first to ask Er læknirinn (Is the doctor).
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