Breakdown of Kennarinn þarf að laga tölvuna.
kennarinn
the teacher
að
to (infinitive marker)
tölvan
the computer
þurfa
to need
Questions & Answers about Kennarinn þarf að laga tölvuna.
Why do we need the word að between þarf and laga?
The verb þurfa (to need) requires the infinitive marker að before the action verb that follows it. It works exactly like the word 'to' in the English phrase 'needs to fix'.
Why is the verb þarf when the dictionary form is þurfa?
Þurfa is a special type of verb where the core vowel changes in the singular forms. For 'I', 'you', and 'he/she/it', the u changes to an a. Since kennarinn (the teacher) acts as a 'he' or 'she', we use the form þarf.
How does the word kennari become kennarinn?
To say 'the' in Icelandic, you attach an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word. For a masculine word like kennari (teacher) acting as the subject of the sentence, you drop the final i and add the definite ending -inn, making it kennarinn (the teacher).
Why does the word for computer (tölva) change to tölvuna at the end of the sentence?