Learn Icelandic: Brauðið er ekki á diskinum. - The bread is not on the plate.

Brauðið er ekki á diskinum.

The bread is not on the plate.

Breakdown of Brauðið er ekki á diskinum.

onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)

Questions & Answers about Brauðið er ekki á diskinum.

Why is it diskinum instead of the dictionary form diskur?

Diskur (plate) is in the dative case here because of the preposition á (on). When á describes a fixed location (where something is resting), it forces the following noun into the dative case. We also need to make it definite ("the" plate), which gives us the final form diskinum.

How exactly is the definite ending for diskinum formed?

Let's break it down step-by-step. Diskur is a masculine noun. First, we find its dative singular form, which is diski (dropping the -ur and adding -i). To make it definite ("the" plate) in the dative case, we attach the masculine dative ending -num. So, diski + -num = diskinum.

Why does "the bread" (brauðið) have a completely different "the" ending than "the plate" (diskinum)?

Icelandic definite endings change based on both gender and grammatical case. Brauð (bread) is a neuter noun and is the subject of the sentence (nominative case), so it takes the neuter nominative ending -ið. Diskur, on the other hand, is a masculine noun in the dative case, so it requires the dative masculine ending -num.

Can I put ekki at the end of the sentence?