Breakdown of Barnið er að gráta núna.
vera
to be
barnið
the child
núna
now
að
to (infinitive marker)
gráta
to cry
Questions & Answers about Barnið er að gráta núna.
How do we know this means 'is crying' instead of just 'cries'?
This sentence uses the present continuous pattern taught in this lesson: the verb vera (to be) plus að plus an infinitive verb. Here, er (is) plus að gráta (to cry) shows that the action is happening right at this moment.
Why is the word for 'the child' Barnið instead of having a separate word for 'the'?
In Icelandic, the definite article (the word for 'the') is usually attached directly to the end of the noun. Barn means 'child', and adding the neuter ending -ið makes it Barnið ('the child').
Does the word að translate to anything specific in this sentence?
In this pattern, að acts as an infinitive marker, very much like the word 'to' in English (as in 'to cry'). So er að gráta literally looks like 'is to cry', which is the standard way Icelandic builds the continuous '-ing' form.
I have seen the shorter word nú used for 'now'. Why does this sentence use núna?
Both words mean 'now', but núna is slightly stronger and emphasizes 'right now' or 'at this exact moment'. It pairs naturally with the present continuous structure to highlight that the baby is currently in the middle of crying.
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