Breakdown of Stelpan sefur í rúmi.
stelpan
the girl
sofa
to sleep
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
rúmið
the bed
Questions & Answers about Stelpan sefur í rúmi.
Why is it rúmi and not just rúm?
The preposition í (in) requires the dative case when describing a fixed location, like where someone is currently sleeping. For the neuter word rúm (bed), the dative form adds an -i to the end, making it rúmi.
Why isn't there a 'the' attached to the word for bed?
Just like in English where we often say someone is 'in bed' rather than 'in the bed', Icelandic uses the bare, indefinite form here. So it translates naturally as í rúmi without any article attached.
The dictionary form of the verb is sofa. Why does it change to sefur here?
When conjugating the verb sofa (to sleep) for he, she, or it, the root vowel changes from an o to an e. This vowel shift is a very common feature in Icelandic verbs, changing sofa to sefur.
How does the word stelpa (girl) become stelpan (the girl)?
In Icelandic, the word for 'the' attaches to the end of the noun. For feminine nouns like stelpa, the definite suffix is usually -in. Because stelpa already ends in a vowel, the i is dropped and just the -n is added to make stelpan.
Learn Stelpan sefur í rúmi and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free