Questions & Answers about Barnið brýtur glasið.
Why does the verb brýtur have a ý instead of the jó from its dictionary form brjóta?
This is a strong verb, which means its stem vowel changes in the singular present tense. For brjóta (to break), the jó changes to ý when used with singular subjects like barnið (the child). So it becomes ég brýt, þú brýtur, and barnið brýtur.
If the subject were plural, like "the children", would the verb still have the ý vowel?
No! Strong verbs only have this vowel change in the singular present tense. If the subject is plural, the verb uses its original dictionary vowel (jó). You would say Börnin brjóta glasið (The children break the glass).
Why do both barnið (the child) and glasið (the glass) end in -ið?
In Icelandic, the word for "the" is attached to the end of the noun. Both barn and glas are neuter words. For neuter nouns, the singular ending for "the" is -ið, whether the word is the subject doing the action or the object receiving it.
Since both nouns end in -ið, how do we know which one is breaking which?
Because the subject (the doer) and object (the receiver) look exactly the same for neuter nouns with the article attached, we rely on word order. Just like English, Icelandic usually follows a Subject-Verb-Object pattern. The first noun, barnið, is the one doing the breaking.
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