Questions & Answers about Kennarinn les langa sögu.
Why is the adjective langa instead of löng or langan?
In Icelandic, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Here, the noun sögu is feminine and in the accusative case because it is the direct object. The strong feminine accusative ending for adjectives is -a, which makes the word langa.
Why is the word for story sögu instead of its dictionary form saga?
Because the story is the direct object being read, it changes from the nominative (subject) case into the accusative case. Feminine nouns that end in -a in their dictionary form change that -a to a -u in the accusative case, making it sögu.
How do we know Kennarinn means "the teacher" and not just "a teacher"?
In Icelandic, the word for "the" is usually attached to the end of the noun as a suffix. The dictionary form for a teacher is kennari. By adding the masculine definite article suffix -nn, it becomes kennarinn (the teacher).
Does the verb les always make the following words take the accusative case?
Yes, when it has a direct object. The verb les (reads) is an action verb, and the thing being read is the direct object. In Icelandic, the direct object of most action verbs requires the accusative case, triggering the changes we see in langa sögu.
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