Breakdown of Kötturinn er ekki hér en hann er úti.
vera
to be
hér
here
hann
he
en
but
kötturinn
the cat
úti
outside
ekki
not
Questions & Answers about Kötturinn er ekki hér en hann er úti.
Why does ekki come right after the verb er?
In basic Icelandic sentences, the verb is usually the second piece of information. The word for negation, ekki, generally goes right after that main verb. So we say Kötturinn er ekki rather than putting ekki before the verb.
Why does the sentence use hann (he) for a cat instead of a word for it?
Icelandic nouns have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter). The word for cat, köttur, is a masculine word. When referring back to a masculine noun, Icelandic uses the masculine pronoun hann, even for animals or objects that we would just call it in English.
What does the -inn part at the end of Kötturinn mean?
That is the definite article, which translates to the English word the. Instead of using a separate word in front of the noun, Icelandic attaches a suffix to the end. Köttur means a cat, while kötturinn means the cat.
Why is the word for outside úti here instead of út?
Location words in Icelandic often change depending on whether there is movement. You use úti when something is stationary and already located outside. You use út when there is active movement towards the outside, like walking out a door. Since the cat is already out there, we use úti.
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