Word
Hundurinn sefur stundum undir borðum.
Meaning
The dog sometimes sleeps under tables.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hundurinn sefur stundum undir borðum.
hundurinn
the dog
borðið
the table
sofa
to sleep
stundum
sometimes
Questions & Answers about Hundurinn sefur stundum undir borðum.
Why does the word for table end in -um here?
The dictionary form is borð (table). Because the dog is located under the tables, the preposition undir (under) forces the noun into the dative case. The ending -um is the standard dative plural ending for almost all nouns in Icelandic, making borðum mean tables in the dative case.
How would the sentence change if the dog slept under THE tables?
You would change the bare plural ending to the definite dative plural form, which is -unum. The word would become borðunum, and the phrase would be undir borðunum (under the tables).
Does the word stundum (sometimes) also have a dative plural ending?
Yes, historically! The word stundum is an adverb meaning sometimes, but it originally comes from the dative plural of the noun stund (a while, a period of time). So literally, it meant at times. Today it is just used as a fixed adverb, but it's a great way to remember the -um ending.
Why is the verb sefur when the dictionary form is sofa?
The verb sofa (to sleep) has a vowel change from o to e in its singular forms. This is a common pattern to watch out for. Because of this shift, we say ég sef (I sleep) and hann/hún/það sefur (he/she/it sleeps).