Learn Icelandic: Ég kaupi eina pylsu og einn poka. - I am buying one hot dog and one bag.

Ég kaupi eina pylsu og einn poka.

I am buying one hot dog and one bag.

Breakdown of Ég kaupi eina pylsu og einn poka.

Questions & Answers about Ég kaupi eina pylsu og einn poka.

Why are there two different words for 'one' (eina and einn) in this sentence?

In Icelandic, the numbers 1 through 4 change to match the gender of the noun they are counting. The word for hot dog (pylsa) is feminine, so it takes the feminine form eina. The word for bag (poki) is masculine, so it takes the masculine form einn.

Why is the feminine word for 'one' eina instead of ein?

Because it is in the accusative case! The verb kaupa (to buy) makes the things you are buying accusative. The dictionary form of the feminine 'one' is ein, but when it becomes the object of this verb, it changes to the accusative form eina.

Wait, doesn't the masculine word for 'one' also change in the accusative case? Why is it still einn?

It actually is in the accusative case here! For masculine nouns, the accusative form of 'one' is einn, which happens to look exactly the same as the dictionary form.

Why did the nouns change to pylsu and poka instead of their dictionary forms pylsa and poki?