Breakdown of Herbergið þeirra er lítið.
vera
to be
lítill
small / a little (small amount)
þeirra
their / theirs
herbergið
the room
Questions & Answers about Herbergið þeirra er lítið.
Why does it say Herbergið þeirra ('the room their') instead of Þeirra herbergi ('their room')?
In Icelandic, it is most common to put the possessive word after the noun. When you do this, the noun must have the attached definite article ('the'). So, instead of saying 'their room', Icelandic phrases it as 'the room their' (Herbergið þeirra).
Will þeirra change if we are talking about multiple rooms, or a masculine noun?
No, þeirra stays exactly the same! Because it is a fixed genitive pronoun, it does not change endings to match the gender or number of the thing being owned. It will always be þeirra.
How does the word herbergið break down? Why does it just end in -ð instead of -ið?
The base word for room is herbergi, which is a neuter noun. To add the definite article ('the') to a neuter noun that already ends in a vowel, you just attach -ð. If the neuter noun ended in a consonant, you would add -ið.
Why is the word for small lítið here instead of the dictionary form lítill?
Adjectives in Icelandic have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because herbergi is a neuter noun, the adjective takes its neuter form, which is lítið. The form lítill is used for masculine nouns.
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