Questions & Answers about Kennarinn skrifar bók.
Since the lesson is about direct objects, why doesn't the word bók change its spelling here?
Bók is the direct object receiving the action, so it is in the accusative case. For many feminine words like bók, the bare accusative form is exactly the same as the dictionary form. It is already in the accusative, it just doesn't look any different!
There is no word for "a" before bók. How do we know it means "a book"?
Icelandic does not have words for "a" or "an". A bare noun without a "the" ending attached to it, like bók, is automatically understood as "a book" or simply "book" depending on what sounds best in English.
How is the word for "the teacher" formed here?
The dictionary word for teacher is kennari. In Icelandic, "the" is added to the end of the word rather than coming before it. For masculine words like this, we add -nn to make kennarinn (the teacher).
Why does the verb skrifar end in -ar?
Verbs in Icelandic change their endings to match the subject. The dictionary form is skrifa (to write). Because the subject is kennarinn (a "he" or "she"), we use the third-person singular form, which for this verb ends in -ar.
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