Breakdown of Fugl Páls er í tré.
vera
to be
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
fuglinn
the bird
tréð
the tree
Páll
Páll
Questions & Answers about Fugl Páls er í tré.
Why is the name Páll written as Páls here?
Páls is in the genitive case, which shows possession or ownership, just like adding an apostrophe-s in English. For many masculine names like Páll, the genitive singular is formed by simply adding -s to the end.
Why is the word order Fugl Páls instead of Páls fugl?
In Icelandic, the owner usually comes right after the thing being owned. So instead of saying Páll's bird, the standard phrasing is closer to the bird of Páll (Fugl Páls).
How do we know it means a tree when there is no word for a in the sentence?
Icelandic does not have an indefinite article (a separate word for a or an). A bare noun like tré simply means a tree. If it meant the tree, a definite article suffix would be attached to the end of the word.
What case is tré in after the preposition í?
It is in the dative case because the bird is resting in the tree, showing a stationary position. Luckily, for the neuter word tré, the nominative, accusative, and dative forms all look exactly the same!
Learn Fugl Páls er í tré 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