Breakdown of Borgir á Íslandi eru stórar.
vera
to be
stór
big
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
Ísland
Iceland
borgin
the city (f)
Questions & Answers about Borgir á Íslandi eru stórar.
How do we form the plural borgir from the singular word for city?
The singular word for city is borg, which is a feminine noun. To make it plural and indefinite (meaning cities, not the cities), we add the ending -ir. This is a very common plural ending for feminine nouns in the nominative case when they are the subject of the sentence.
Why is the adjective stórar used instead of stór?
In Icelandic, adjectives have to match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Since borgir is feminine and plural, the base adjective stór (big) takes the feminine plural ending -ar to become stórar.
Why do we use á instead of í to say in Iceland?
The preposition á usually means on, while í means in. However, because Iceland is an island, you will almost always hear Icelanders say that things are located on Iceland (á Íslandi) rather than in it.
Why is there an i at the end of Íslandi?
The base dictionary word for Iceland is Ísland. When we use the preposition á to talk about a fixed location, it forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. For neuter nouns like Ísland, the dative case usually adds an -i to the end, making it Íslandi.
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