Question 1

Why does the sentence start with Ert þú instead of Þú ert?

Accepted Answer

To turn a statement into a yes/no question in Icelandic, you swap the verb and the subject. The statement "You are drawing" is Þú ert að teikna. By putting the verb first, it becomes the question Ert þú að teikna? (Are you drawing?).

Question 2

What is the purpose of að before teikna?

Accepted Answer

This is part of the present continuous pattern you are learning. To say someone is doing an action right now, Icelandic uses the conjugated verb vera (to be) plus að plus the infinitive of the action verb. Here, Ert þú að teikna is the exact equivalent of "Are you drawing".

Question 3

Where is the word for "the" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Icelandic doesn't usually use a separate word for "the" like English does. Instead, it attaches an ending to the noun. The base word for flower is blóm. Because it is a neuter noun, the "the" suffix is -ið, making it blómið (the flower).

Question 4

Does blómið change its ending because it is the object being drawn?

Accepted Answer

It is technically in the accusative case here because it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb teikna (to draw). However, for neuter words like blóm, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic dictionary (nominative) form. So it simply stays blómið.

Ert þú að teikna blómið?

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