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Questions & Answers about Ég tek steina.
Why is the word for stones steina instead of steinar?
Because the stones are the direct object being taken, the noun must be in the accusative case. The base word is the masculine noun steinn (stone). While its nominative plural is steinar, its accusative plural drops the final r and becomes steina.
How would this sentence change if I wanted to say "I am taking the stones"?
You would add the definite ending directly to that accusative plural form. For masculine nouns in the accusative plural, the definite ending is -na. So steina (stones) becomes steinana (the stones), making the sentence Ég tek steinana.
Why does ég tek translate to "I am taking" instead of "I take"?
Icelandic does not have a separate present continuous tense like the English "am taking" or "is doing". The simple present tense ég tek covers both "I take" (as a habit) and "I am taking" (right now). The best translation simply depends on the context.
The dictionary form for the verb "to take" is taka. Why is there an 'e' in tek?
The verb taka undergoes a vowel shift when it is conjugated. For the first person singular (ég), the root vowel 'a' changes to 'e', giving us tek.