Breakdown of Skrifið textann og lesið samtalið!
og
and
lesa
to read
skrifa
to write
textinn
the text
samtalið
the conversation
Questions & Answers about Skrifið textann og lesið samtalið!
How do we know these are plural commands and not singular commands?
How do you build plural commands like skrifið and lesið?
You take the infinitive (dictionary) form of the verb, drop the final -a, and add -ið. So the verb skrifa (to write) drops its -a and becomes skrifið, while lesa (to read) becomes lesið.
Why does the word for "the text" end in -nn here (textann)?
The word texti (text) is the direct object of the verb—it's the thing being written. This means it must be in the accusative case, which changes it to texta. When we attach the definite article (meaning "the"), masculine words in the accusative case take the ending -nn, giving us textann.
Why didn't samtalið (the conversation) change its ending in the accusative case like textann did?
Samtal is a neuter noun. A very handy rule in Icelandic is that neuter nouns almost always look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the nominative (dictionary) case. The -ið at the end is simply the neuter definite article meaning "the".
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