Breakdown of Hún þrífur glösin en ég þríf bolla.
ég
I
hún
she
en
but
bollinn
the cup
þrífa
to clean
glasið
the glass
Questions & Answers about Hún þrífur glösin en ég þríf bolla.
Why is the word for 'the glasses' glösin and not 'glasin'?
The singular word is glas (neuter). In the plural, the letter 'a' changes to 'ö', making it glös. Neuter nouns look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the nominative. To say 'the glasses', we add the definite plural ending -in, giving us glösin.
Wait, isn't bolla singular? How does it mean 'cups' here?
The dictionary form is bolli (a weak masculine noun, meaning it ends in a vowel). For these nouns, the accusative plural ending is -a, giving us bolla. It can be tricky because the accusative singular form is also bolla! We know it means 'cups' here from the context of contrasting with the plural 'glasses'.
Why does the verb change from þrífur to þríf?
The verb is þrífa (to clean). Like most verbs, the ending changes depending on who is doing the action. Hún þrífur means 'She cleans' (third-person singular), while ég þríf means 'I clean' (first-person singular).
Can en mean both 'but' and 'and'?
Yes! The word en is most often translated as 'but', which fits perfectly here to show a contrast between what she cleans and what I clean. However, it can sometimes translate to 'and' when introducing a contrast, similar to 'whereas' in English.
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