Questions & Answers about Stelpan keypti brauðið og mætti seint.
Why does the past tense of kaupa become keypti with a -ti ending?
Kaupa (to buy) is a weak verb that takes a -ti ending in the past tense because its stem ends in the voiceless sound p. It also has a vowel shift where the au in the root changes to ey in the past tense.
Where does the double tt in mætti come from?
The dictionary form of this verb is mæta (to show up or arrive). Its stem is mæt-. Because it is a weak verb that takes the -ti past tense ending, you add -ti directly to the stem. The stem's t and the ending's t combine into the double tt in mætti.
Both Stelpan and brauðið have a definite article attached to them. Why are the endings different?
The ending depends on the noun's gender and spelling. Stelpa (girl) is feminine and ends in a vowel, so it just takes -n to mean 'the girl'. Brauð (bread) is neuter and ends in a consonant, so it takes the ending -ið to mean 'the bread'.
Why use seint instead of seinn for 'late'?