Question 1

Why is the word for cabinet skáp here instead of skápur?

Accepted Answer

The word skápur (a cabinet) is a masculine noun. In this sentence, it comes after the preposition í (in). Because the coffee is just resting there (a static location with no movement), í forces the noun into the dative case. To make the dative form of many masculine nouns ending in -ur, you simply drop the -ur. That leaves us with the bare form skáp.

Question 2

Does í skáp mean "in a cabinet" or "in the cabinet"?

Accepted Answer

It means "in a cabinet". Icelandic doesn't have a separate word for "a" or "an", so a bare, ending-less noun like skáp is indefinite. If you wanted to say "in the cabinet", you would need to add the masculine dative definite ending (-num) to make it í skápnum.

Question 3

Why does Kaffið have -ið at the end?

Accepted Answer

Kaffi is a neuter noun meaning "coffee". In Icelandic, the word for "the" is attached directly to the end of the noun. For neuter words, that attached ending is -ið, making Kaffið translate to "the coffee".

Question 4

If I wanted to say the coffee is "on" a cabinet, would the grammar change?

Accepted Answer

The preposition would change, but the case would stay the same! You would use á (on) instead of í (in/inside). Because resting on top of a cabinet is still a static location, á also takes the dative case here. You would simply say Kaffið er á skáp.

Kaffið er í skáp.

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