Breakdown of Mamma hjólaði á ströndina.
mamman
the mom (informal)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
ströndin
the beach
hjóla
to cycle
Questions & Answers about Mamma hjólaði á ströndina.
How is the past tense formed in hjólaði?
The dictionary form is hjóla (to cycle). This is a Group 1 verb, which means it gets a specific past tense ending. To make it past tense for a single person (I, you, he/she/it), you remove the final -a and add the suffix -aði. Since mamma is "she", the verb becomes hjólaði.
Does the word á always mean "to"?
Not always! The preposition á usually translates to "on". However, Icelandic pairs certain places with specific prepositions. When traveling to a beach, an island, or an event, you use á to mean "to".
Why is the word for "the beach" spelled ströndina here?
The base word for "beach" is strönd, and "the beach" as a subject is ströndin. But here, Mom is moving toward a destination. The preposition á combined with this physical motion forces the following word into the accusative case, changing ströndin to ströndina.
Why doesn't mamma have a word for "the" attached to it?
In Icelandic, close family words like mamma (mom) and pabbi (dad) act almost like names. You just use the base word without adding a definite article (the "the" ending) when talking about them.
Learn Mamma hjólaði á ströndina and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free