Breakdown of Konan er að mála bátinn.
vera
to be
konan
the woman
að
to (infinitive marker)
báturinn
the boat
mála
to paint
Questions & Answers about Konan er að mála bátinn.
How do we get "is painting" from er að mála?
In Icelandic, you describe an ongoing action (doing something right now) by using the verb vera (to be) plus að plus the infinitive form of the action verb. Here, er means "is", and að mála is "to paint". Together, er að mála means "is painting".
Does the verb mála change depending on who is painting?
Not in this sentence! Because you are using the vera að structure, only the "to be" verb (er) changes to match the person. The main verb mála stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form, so it would look exactly the same whether "I", "you", or "the woman" is doing the painting.
Why is the subject Konan instead of just Kona?
In Icelandic, the word for "the" is usually attached to the end of the noun rather than acting as a separate word before it. Kona means "a woman", and adding the definite suffix -n gives us Konan, meaning "the woman".
Why does the word for boat change to bátinn here?
The dictionary form of "a boat" is bátur, which is a masculine word. Because the boat is the object receiving the action (it is being painted), it changes to the accusative case, becoming bát. Then, to say "the" boat, we add the masculine accusative definite ending -inn, resulting in bátinn.
Learn Konan er að mála bátinn and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free